


Naruto the Scarecrow

by Slizzah



Category: Naruto
Genre: AlternateUniverse, ByakuganNaruto, Dunnoaboutpairings., F/M, IamnotwritingeverypersoninNaruto, Kakashiisanacutalsenseihere, Nobashing, SharinganNaruto, SmarterNaruto, daimyofuckshitup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-08-14 15:53:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 118,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16495703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slizzah/pseuds/Slizzah
Summary: Very AU.[Slow Build] Kidnapped at a young age, Naruto is forced to learn how to kill. Guided by a strangely helpful Fox; Naruto learns to be a ninja in a highly unconventional way. A smarter Naruto that will gain the Sharingan and Byakugan but I will do my best to not make him over powered. First attempt at fanfiction so please review.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there. Cross posted from FFN. Some general notes, I will usually use the english term instead of the japanese one. First Hokage and not Shodai Hokage for example. I will make exceptions for really common japanese words like Chidori and Rasengan though. It sounds better then Spiraling Sphere. First attempt at fanficiton, always looking for reviews.

A dull throbbing pain in his head was the first thing that young Naruto registered while coming to from the depths of unconsciousness.

'Ugh,' was the first thought that came to his mind quickly followed by 'Why is my head sore?'

**"You're finally awake. It's about time,"**

The deep rumbling voice took Naruto by surprise. He opened his eyes and found himself sitting in shallow water. Looking around Naruto didn't recognise any of his surroundings. In front of him was a large cage and high above a large red eye was staring down at him.

**"I would not have drawn you to your mindscape unless I had to. I'm not sure how but you were taken from the Leaf village."**

This was a lot of information to take in. Naruto knew that he was smarter than other six year olds and he was clued in enough to realise that he probably shouldn't showcase this intelligence otherwise the villagers might find a new reason to hate him. 'Not that I know exactly why they hate me. I only understand that people seem to hate me since a demon attacked the village on the day I was born.'

Naruto got to his feet but didn't move any closer to the cage. "Who are you? What do you mean by mindscape?"

**"I am the Nine Tailed Fox. Your consciousness is currently here, in your mindscape. It is the only way we can meet face to face. "Time" flows differently here since we are essentially operating at the speed of thought. This means that barely any time in the real world has passed since we started talking."**

When Naruto heard this, he knew this was an excellent chance where he might be able to get some answers. "How are you here? Are you inside me? Why did this happen?"

Kurama thought hard, **_'I don't think explaining everything about the seal now is a good idea. He seems like a good kid, at least from what I have managed to see through his eyes but knowing that I share his pain would give him too much leverage over me. Perhaps if he earns my respect I can trust him with the truth.'_** Even though his former host, Kushina Uzumaki's love for her family had managed to rekindle a small amount of compassion inside him, Kurama was still too wary of trusting humans with the truth, let alone his name.

Instead Kurama answered, **"I was sealed inside of you on the day you were born by the Fourth Hokage. I was trapped here against my will and you are my jailer. You should release me from here because it's the right thing to do."**

Naruto raised his right hand to his chin, deep in thought, _'He says the Fourth sealed him inside of me against the Fox's will. However I know that the Fourth was a great hero and wouldn't do this without a reason.'_ A sudden brainwave struck and Naruto's eyes widened in realisation. _'I have the Fox sealed inside me. The villagers call me a "Demon Child" and always seemed to hate me. On the day I was born, a demon attacked the village and lots of people died. I think the Nine Tails was behind the attack and that's why everyone hates me. Now, all I want to know now is why the Fourth chose me.'_

Naruto looked up at the Fox accusingly, "Don't lie to me. I've figured it out; you are the one that attacked the village. I'm guessing the Fourth stopped you by sealing you inside me. I don't know why the Fourth chose me but if I let you free you that means the Fourth picked the wrong person. He's a hero and I can't let him down."

Naruto had grown tired over the conversation and wanted to leave his mindscape. No sooner had he thought about leaving when a strange feeling began in his belly and Naruto opened his eyes, finding his body sitting on dry ground, slumped against a wall behind him as if he had been sleeping.

xXx

The sound of footsteps could be heard and Naruto raised his head. Looking up in the dim light, Naruto could see an imposingly tall woman with shoulder length brown hair. She was separated from Naruto by thick steel bars. She wore full length black combat pants with a mesh armour shirt underneath a gray combat vest. A thin scar ran from the left corner of her mouth down to her chin.

"Listen up brat, my name is Akari and I am in charge. You will do what I say or I will hurt you," The lady's voice was rough, almost as if she yelled a lot.

Naruto nodded in fear. While the villagers' eyes had always held traces of anger or even fear when they looked at him, they never had the predatory look that this lady was giving him. As if she wanted to stalk him in the darkness and kill him. 'I have no idea where I am but I really need to get back to the village. I'll take angry looks over this lady any day.'

Naruto looked around. It looked like he was in a cell, just like the ones in the Uchiha Police Station. A small bed of straw was in the left back corner with a small toilet in the right. Other than that, the room was bare and small; Naruto could probably cross it with six large steps.

Suddenly the combined stress of being kidnapped, being in fear of Akari and the alarm that his life had been completely changed and that no-one would care that he was missing became too much and he started to cry. His wails echoed throughout his cell and greatly annoyed Akari.

"Stop crying, it won't work on me and the sound of it is irritating," ordered Akari.

When Naruto didn't stop, she sighed than formed a Tiger hand sign. The floor beneath Naruto was suddenly blisteringly hot and Naruto gave a sharp cry of pain as parts of his body got burned. He quickly got to his feet as tears poured down his face, in an attempt to escape the searing stone that was the floor of his cell.

He couldn't help it; the pain had shocked him to his core. Naruto continued crying but at an even louder volume while hopping on his right foot, trying to escape the heat.

Akari let out a very annoyed huff; "Look!" she said sharply, "Stop crying! Now! If you keep making a racket I'll just leave the floor as it is permanently. Do you want more pain brat!?"

Naruto stiffened upon hearing her question. _'That really hurt but she says she will leave it like that? I have to try and be quiet.'_ Biting down on his lower lip to muffle the sobs, Naruto covered his mouth with both of his hands. Tears were running thick and fast but barely a sound could be heard from Naruto now. With Naruto quickly quieting, Akari released her technique and the floor returned to a normal temperature.

Akari gave a thin but humourless smile, "Good, that's a lot better. Now you need to know that you are my prisoner. Our shinobi took you away from Konoha without a trace. Now I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to answer with the truth got it?"

Naruto nodded again, eyes downcast and still teary.

"Good you're a fast learner. Now tell me your name, age and how many friends and family you have," Akari said in response.

_'So they don't know anything about me, or do they and want to catch me lying? I guess I'll give some answers but not everything, I should try and lie a little bit.'_

"My name is Naruto Tanaka and I am six years old." Naruto replied softly.

"And your family?" asked Akari.

"They are ninja. I don't know where they are but they'll look for me."

Akari let out a positive hum "Well that's good news, hopefully that means any rescue attempts will be minimal at best. We just have to worry about concerned family members; we deal with them all the time. Here's the gist brat, you are in 'The Pit'. It's an underground fighting arena where prisoners face each other in combat to the death. Once you start a fight, the only way to win is to kill your opponent. That's it. Any questions?"

Naruto's mind was working at a mile a minute but thought, _'I have so many questions but I don't think she will answer all of them. What is the most important thing right now?'_

"How did you manage to get passed the Leaf's security to kidnap me? Also will I be able to get my freedom?"

"Well I can't see any harm in telling you, I doubt you will live through your first fight. Most newbies don't. Our top ninja for kidnapping is Mako. He is highly talented in infiltration but that's about it. However he is a man of, how do I put this delicately? _Unusual tastes_. Which is why he targets children, and other people of similar tastes exist everywhere and he is able to contact them when he needs a favour.

"As for your freedom, no you will not be able to earn it. If a member of our audience takes a liking to you, they can put forth a bid to buy you but you won't be a free person again, unless the powers that be decide otherwise."

As Akari finished speaking, she reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a key. Stepping forward, she unlocked Naruto's cell door and swung it open.

"Your first fight is now. Remember the only way out is by killing your opponent." Akari gave him savage grin as she pulled Naruto to his feet and marched out of his cell and down a corridor.

They came to a large area that had some benches and long tables. It looked like a place where some people might gather and eat but Naruto wasn't able to get a good look before he was roughly directed to his left and through an open doorway into The Pit.

Soft earth was before him and several rows of seats were arranged in a ring above the fighting arena. The Pit was around thirty meters in circumference with a three meter high concrete wall separating the stands from the Pit. The seats that housed the audience looked to be around half full, maybe housing around one hundred people or so.

On the other side of the Pit, Naruto saw his first opponent. His opponent looked to be a little older than Naruto, maybe a nine or even ten year old boy. The sound of metal grating upon stone grabbed his attention and Naruto turned, seeing thick steel bars lower over the doorway he had just been forced though. The call to fight was announced at a loud volume, which was met with cheers from the crowd.

xXx

 **"Hey Naruto, I can help you here. There is no kid in the world that is able to match me. Let me fight and you can save yourself a lot of pain."** Kurama said, a little careful in his wording so that he wouldn't spook the boy who was far smarter than he looked.

Naruto was dubious, and made this obvious in his thoughts, 'You already tried to trick me into freeing you, which goes against what the Fourth would've wanted. I'm not going to listen to you.'

Naruto's opponent charged straight away, pulling back his right arm ready to punch Naruto in the face as he crossed the distance. Naruto quickly rolled to his left to avoid the punch but his roll was sloppy and gave his opponent time to catch up to him. Naruto felt arms circle his waist and was suddenly thrown to the ground hard on his back. The wind left his lungs as he instinctively brought his arms up to protect his face. Still trying to figure out how this had happened, a sudden knee slamming into his sternum made Naruto cry out in pain. He tried to roll to his left to retch but the weight of his opponent weighed him down. A small amount of bile rose up and splattered onto the chest of the boy on top of him. The boy gave a grunt of disgust and pulled off him to avoid anymore mess.

Naruto used this opportunity to roll onto his left side into a foetal position gasping in pain. He was savagely kicked onto his stomach and felt his right arm wrenched around behind his back and Naruto's whole world exploded into pain.

"You are going to pay for spewing on me worm. I haven't seen you around here so this must be your first fight. Too bad for you, I've won six fights, no one is going to kill Joshirio!" declared the boy arrogantly while flexing Naruto's arm even higher up his back. "I'm going to make you suffer before I kill you!"

Naruto was already screaming at the top of his voice in agony, eyes clenched in a futile attempt to escape the pain. He struggled desperately but Joshirio was too strong for him to move. Almost impossibly, his arm was forced to go even higher and Naruto thought he was going to die from this torture.

Abruptly the pain vanished and Naruto opened his eyes in shock. He was lying in shallow water. _'Great, back in my mindscape,'_

 **"So have you changed your mind yet kid?"** asked the Fox. His tone sounded even but it wavered ever so slightly.

_'Well he is strong. He has to be to fight and kill the Fourth Hokage. I don't know how to fight at all. I need his experience but I don't know if I can trust him.'_

"What, are you going to tell me how to fight? I can't get out of this arm hold that I'm in." asked Naruto.

 **"I can help train you to become stronger. It is only fitting that my jailer becomes strong. We both benefit here. I do have a reputation to uphold after all."** the Nine Tailed Fox said.

_'There is something else but I don't know what. Surely if I die, he gets free. I need to figure out what it is but right now I have no other choice. I can't win without his help.'_

"Fine, let's work together. I know you are hiding something but I hope you are being honest when you say you want to help me. So long as you don't try to harm me or anyone I call my friend, we can work together."

The Nine Tails grumbled a little bit. This brat was trying to play him but that wasn't really important. While in time passed differently here compared to the real world, the fact was that Naruto's body was still in pain. The entire time Kurama had been trying to ignore the agony from his host's body but not having much success.

If it had been his own body, Kurama wouldn't have even felt it but this pain was all Naruto's which meant Kurama's pain was both mental and proportional. His own sanity would not last much longer at this rate.

"As long as you agree to not intentionally harm me in return, I agree!" Kurama stated in a growl. Hiding this pain was harder than he thought it would be.

Suddenly Naruto was back in the real world. Pain exploded into his conscience when red chakra engulfed his body and Naruto's struggles to get free became much stronger. Jerking his arm free, Naruto could feel the Fox's presence in his mind.

 **"Quick, flare my chakra outward to make that brat fly away and get some space,"** the Nine Tail's said urgently.

 _'I don't know how to do that. I don't even know what chakra is.'_ thought Naruto.

There was a pause than the Nine Tailed Fox said **"We have a deal to not hurt each other. I also agreed to help you. If you let me have control for the rest of the fight I can save us. After that I will explain everything I can."**

 _'I agree with that,'_  Naruto thought in response.

Naruto could feel his body moving in a detached kind of way, like he was far away from it. The Fox flared out his chakra and Naruto felt Joshirio's body fly off him. Quickly getting to his feet, Naruto felt himself turn and run towards Joshirio's still recovering body. With the Fox strengthening his muscles, Naruto picked up his opponent turning Joshirio to face away from him, than wrapping his left arm around Joshirio's throat, Naruto began to squeeze. Joshirio began to panic and had both hands on Naruto's arm, trying to loosen it to get some air. However the Fox had made Naruto too strong for the young boy and soon he stopped his desperate actions and went limp.

As soon as Joshirio had died, the Fox had returned control to Naruto. Naruto realised that the weight was too much for him to hold and dropped Joshirio's body. Pain still lanced through his right shoulder and he felt himself fall to his knees in shock. Naruto looked at the body next to him, staring into his lifeless eyes. _'That's not normal. His eyes shouldn't look like that there should be, **something** there. Is he really dead? Oh my god he is, what have I done?'_

His thoughts got cut off as he once again vomited but this time in disgust. Before he had time to feel any worse, the sound of clapping could be heard. Naruto looked up, the crowd was applauding him. He felt sick with them and with himself. The events of everything he had suffered today caught up to him and he fainted.

Finding himself back in his mindscape, Naruto sat shivering in the water. **"Alright kid, I guess I will have to explain some stuff before trying to teach you."**

Even as he sat in the shallow water of his mindscape, Naruto could tell that the Nine Tails wanted to say something but Naruto was no state to talk. 'I killed someone, another boy just like me. Did he want to be here, or was he forced to fight like me? I am the demon that people call me. I'm nothing but a monster,' Naruto had failed everything that he knew the Fourth Hokage stood for. 'Surely he never imagined that I would be such a bad person,"

Kurama could feel Naruto's distress. Although it wasn't pain and didn't affect him, Kurama knew he had to help Naruto through this otherwise he wouldn't be able to fight properly next time which would result in more pain for both of them. He had to say something; the only problem was that he didn't know what to say. Kurama had always enjoyed battle, relished the feeling of power and control. He couldn't really relate to his host's feelings.

 **"Naruto listen to me, you did nothing wrong. You defended yourself and that boy was going to kill you remember? If you had wanted to kill him that would be different but you didn't. Until I can make you strong enough to escape, this is our life now. Nothing will change that. Now remember you promised to get stronger and to protect us both."** Kurama said in a rough approximation of a gentle voice.

Naruto heard the words and thought upon them. _'True, I didn't want to kill him. I did make that promise to help us both. I guess I should stop thinking about all of this.'_

Steeling himself, Naruto suppressed his emotions down into a dark corner of his mind. It would do him no good to fall apart every time he was forced to kill someone and needed a way to get rid of this "weakness". Looking back up at the Fox, Naruto said evenly, "Okay, what did you have to explain to me?"

Kurama gazed down at Naruto wondering where to begin as well how much to tell the kid. **"Alright Naruto, as you already figured out, I am the reason the village hates you. However; I did not want to attack your village or kill the Fourth but I was controlled by a masked man with a Sharingan. This man is now my sworn enemy and he will die."**

Kurama paused for breath before continuing, **"All you really need to know now is that I am stuck here. The seal keeping me in place is well designed and I have no chance at breaking it by myself. Therefore, I have decided to make you as strong as possible so that any enemies you face will know that they face the strongest Tailed Beast as well. My chakra will also heal your body when it is injured. Any questions so far?** "

"Yeah, surely when I die, you will be set free. Why would you help me get stronger if you could just ignore me and be released?"

**"Kid, I have lived for a long time. I am pure chakra and therefore cannot "die" in the normal sense. What happens instead is if I use too much of my own chakra, my being is dissolved and it takes a few years for my chakra to recharge enough and I am "born" again. This process is extremely painful and I have absolutely no wish to go through that again. Anything to delay that pain is a blessing."**

**_'I still won't tell him how I feel his pain as well. To suffer his pain than his death, as well as the continual suffering for the years as my chakra recharges, no way am I willing to go through that.'_ **

Naruto slowly came to face down on concrete. Pushing himself into a sitting position he looked around and saw he was back in his cell.

Kurama continued, this time talking about his plan for training. **"Okay, now chakra is the energy used by ninja's to fuel their jutsus. The most common form of this is the chakra formed inside one's own body. Demon containers like you can use your Tailed Beast's chakra as well which is particularly useful since all Tailed Beasts have large chakra reserves. I want your main focus to be on learning how to use my chakra. It is the easiest place to start since I can provide information you need to know and help regulate the flow. Now you need to understand that Tailed Beasts do not typically fight using ninjutsu. That's not to say we can't just that most of us never bothered to learn any. When we did fight we would simply mould our chakra into elemental form and unleash it with little restrictions. This resulted in lots of power but large amounts of collateral damage."**

Naruto had managed to follow everything that Kurama had told him. Frowning in determination, he waited for Kurama to continue.

**"Alright now since you are a beginner I will act as a valve for my chakra. I will feed my chakra in small but consistent amounts so that it will be easier for you to control. Now I am going to send some chakra through and I want you to focus on the feeling, follow the way it flows through your body and pay attention to how it appears."**

Naruto closed his eyes, breathing deeply. After a short while concentrating, he could sense a small amount 'light' inside of him then the light grew brighter, taking on a red glow. The red light spread throughout his body slowly, in no particular direction. The red light felt warm and Naruto found himself enjoying the way the warmth spread, it was comforting.

 **"Now you know how my chakra feels, you need to know how to use it. What do you see or feel now?"** asked Kurama.

"It's like a red light is inside me, filling me up with warmth," replied Naruto in a slightly serene voice. He really liked this feeling.

 **"My chakra is red which explains the colour; now focus on that red light. I want you to try and funnel the light into your right hand, don't worry the amount of chakra I was sent through is tiny so you won't suffer chakra burns."** Kurama explained.

Naruto did as instructed and slowly his hand began to feel quite warm. He opened his eyes and saw that his right hand was surrounded by the same red chakra from the before.

Soon, red chakra had enveloped his right hand once again. Recalling how the chakra had made him stronger than normal, Naruto clasped his hands and slowly squeezed. He noticed at once that his right was pressing down more firmly and that he had to squeeze much harder with his left to get the same kind of force. Curious, Naruto began trying to stretch the chakra up his arm but it stopped at his elbow and wouldn't go any higher.

 **"Okay Naruto, that's all the chakra I've sent through. I want you to get a better handle of that amount before I up the flow. Focus the amount you have back inside your arm and into a ball then move the ball from your hand up through your arm then down to your right foot. After that, back up your right leg than down your left leg and foot than up to your left hand. This will be a good exercise for control."** Kurama explained.

Naruto focused once again and slowly but surely the ball moved up his right arm and down his right side to his foot. Pausing for a quick breathe, he moved the ball up to his leg and across to his left foot, finally finishing at his left hand. Concentrating like this was more difficult than he had thought but he did it.

A small part of Naruto wanted to jump up and down and start crying out 'I DID IT!' but he remembered Akari and what she said about annoying sounds. No, quiet was best so Naruto could only afford to give himself a satisfied smile.

Kurama for his part was surprised. For a kid that had no prior experience moulding or controlling chakra to be able to complete that step in the first attempt meant he had to be very smart.

 **"Okay kid; keep the ball inside your left hand. I will send through some more chakra and I want you to form a new ball inside your right hand. Then once you have, do the same thing you did before but with both chakra balls. There will be extra step here, from your left hand, move the ball across your chest and back to the start. Move them at the same time since that will be harder but with practice you will get it."** Kurama stated. If Naruto had indeed received some of Minato's talent then Kurama could up the difficulty of the training without worrying about burning the kid out.

After two failed attempts, Naruto was frowning. _'Moving one ball was so easy, why was this so much harder?'_ The main problem arose when the left ball crossed his chest heading back to his right hand. For some reason it became much harder to cross his chest then his arms. It was almost like the ball was moving through water when before it had been air. _'Maybe chakra is located in a person's centre meaning there is more of it there making it tougher to move through,'_ thought Naruto. _'Wait, didn't the Fox say that I had two types of chakra, mine and his? Maybe my chakra is interfering with his when I move it since it is not my chakra,'_

After having that particular thought Naruto sat down again and closed his eyes. He focused again on his inner light but ignored the red for now. He pushed past it and found a new blue light. It was calm and still and Naruto was surprised at the amount there, it was so much more than what the Fox was letting him practice with. Slowly he gathered from of the blue light and opened his eyes. He then gathered a small ball of red chakra and covered it with his blue chakra, then tried moving it across his chest. This proved to be much easier and Naruto grew excited. Pulling up more of both chakras; he soon had both balls moving throughout his body. After ten minutes of practice, Naruto had the balls flowing around his body with such ease that he didn't even really need to think about it.

Kurama was now shocked at the progress. _**'I was preparing to give him a hint after those two failed attempts but he figured it out himself. I wasn't really expecting this kind of progress but we still have a long way to go before I will be truly comfortable letting him have free control in a fight. Still though, to intuitively know that he would get the best results by mixing our chakra after this amount of time, this kid is a genius, even if he doesn't realise it yet.'**_

**"Good, for a human. Now for something else, make your right hand a focal point of my chakra and focus all of it there. After that form the chakra into something like a glove, make it surround your skin. This focuses the chakra and makes the effects more potent with only a little more effort. This is the first step in making you stronger. With this chakra "glove", your punches will be many times stronger. Now make a glove on both hands."**

As Naruto began the new steps,Kurama was thinking about Naruto's next fight. **_'It'll be against another kid but they might have some training after seeing Naruto use my chakra to win his first fight. I don't want to give him too much instruction and distract him with ideas for the future. I need to build his body up and provide him with weapons that he can use now. Make sure he knows the basics first. I will also have to get the training for elemental chakra change in soon, I don't want too many people seeing red chakra, after all Demon Containers are almost universally despised.'_**

Naruto had now formed gloves around both of his hands and was swinging his arms around wildly fighting an imaginary opponent. _'This doesn't feel right. It takes too long for my fists to hit where I want them to. Joshi- no, don't think of his name. That boy yesterday was fast not slow, so I should use my arms quickly. Swinging them like this gives power but I don't need power with these chakra gloves,'_ thought Naruto with sudden clarity.

Naruto then brought his hands up close to his body. _'If swinging them is too slow I guess I should just hit straight, right?'_ and he did just that. Jabbing his right hand out straight Naruto felt the difference immediately. This was definitely the way to go. Naruto then spend the next ten minutes alternating between left and right punches.

A sudden noise to near his door made Naruto look around, a man he had not seen before was unlocking it. "Time for dinner maggot," said the man in gravelly tones. "Follow me."

Naruto did so and was lead back to the large area with tables near the Pit gate. Naruto hadn't taken the time before to observe this room in detail but he did so now. Naruto counted four long tables with seven or eight stools on either side of them. About thirty kids were sitting down, all eating. The tables and stools were bolted into the stone floor with two bulbs hanging from the ceiling providing the only light. All in all, it was a dreary room, poorly lit and with cold stone making up the walls, floor and ceiling.

Naruto was led towards a serving bench were a stern looking women waited. Soon, a small steel bowl of rice and fish was placed in front of him. He also got a plastic cup of water but no cutlery.

"Eat quickly, or it will get taken from you by the larger kids," advised the women.

Naruto found a space that didn't have many other kids around and started wolfing down his food as fast as he could. It was the same here, just like the orphanage. The small bowl didn't last very long and Naruto made sure to eat every last grain. Washing it down with his water Naruto did not feel full in the slightest.

"Hey runt, don't you know it's rude to eat your food without giving me any?" a hostile voice cut through Naruto's thoughts. He looked left and saw a teenage boy glowering at him. "All new guys have to pay me tribute; I'm the strongest fighter here."

Naruto frowned, this was clearly not true, and since the serving women had told him others might try to steal his food he didn't believe those words. "Sorry, I ate all my food," he replied, hoping that this wouldn't end in violence.

"Fuck you, if I don't get to eat your food, then you don't either!" he then grabbed Naruto and threw him to the ground, following it up with a downwards stomp aimed at his stomach.

Naruto had his chakra gloves activated and caught the boy's foot, surprising both of them. Naruto than gripped the ankle with his left hand while wrenching the foot away from him with his right hand with all his strength. A sickening crack was heard and the older boy fell onto his rear in pain, clutching at his now broken ankle. Naruto rolled away from his opponent and got to his feet quickly, racing back towards him he jabbed forward with his right hand into the boys chin, knocking him out. All the other fighters were watching with interest. Some were murmuring to each other while sizing up this newest threat.

"That's enough!" Akari's sharp call cut through all conversation. A sudden silence fell in the eatery. "While fighting is permitted, serious injuries are not. You brat, broke the rules. You get the brand."

Hands roughly grabbed onto Naruto before he knew what was happening. His dirty shirt was pulled up and he heard Akari say "Fire Release: Rapid Torch," which was followed by a burst of heat somewhere behind him. Without warning the burning brand was pressed against his back and Naruto's world exploded into agony. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils as his vocal chords tore from the volume of his screaming. Thankfully the pain was far too much for him to handle and he passed out quickly.

Back inside Naruto's mindscape, Kurama was rigid, trying to prevent himself from writhing around in torment. Even in his tortured state of mind, Kurama had enough presence of mind to try and hide the truth from Naruto. **_'Still, they used a brand? A god damned fucking brand! Who uses that on a six year old kid!? I could sense that Akari had a malicious nature but I didn't that it would go this far. This pain is nothing compared to the fight earlier!'_**

Kurama gnashed his teeth in pain. He suddenly felt his fur being rubbed near his left front paw. Kurama looked down and saw Naruto looking up at him. Although Naruto didn't have to suffer more pain while being inside his mindscape, the sheer scale of what he had suffered had already deeply affected him; Kurama could see it in the boy's eyes.

"I'm sorry Fox, I didn't know about the rules. I broke our promise. I didn't want this to happen!"

Kurama growled **"We are going to kill them all, you hear me Naruto? For causing you this pain they will suffer. Are you with me in this?"**

Naruto nodded, "We will make them pay, believe it,"

Naruto then curled himself on top of Kurama's left front paw and fell asleep. Kurama lowered his head until it rested on the floor next to Naruto. **_'This kid is something else. He entered my space without a second thought to try and comfort me. Even though he is still suspicious of me and my motivations, he is far too kind for this life.'_** Knowing that the kid was there with him seemed to ease the pain somehow. Kurama also closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of all the many ways he was going to make Akari suffer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be uploading the chapters I have written already soon.

Kurama felt his consciousness awaken and was greeted once again by the pain caused by that accursed brand. After living for centuries he knew that humanity were far greater monsters than he would ever be but actually branding a six year old boy; Kurama never really thought something like that would happen before his eyes.  _ **'If Naruto suffers another brand I don't think his mind would survive. I can't let that happen,'**_ Kurama was shocked with himself for that thought. He suddenly realised it was true but not just because of the deal he and Naruto had made. Having watched Naruto's life through his eyes, Kurama knew exactly how much the village hated Naruto. The boy, bless his soul, not understanding why but determined to never give up in spite of it had earned a small portion of Kurama's respect. Knowing that his natural healing had started the second the brand had left Naruto's skin, Kurama figured that the biggest threat to Naruto was his own mindset.

' _ **I have to teach him nature transformation now. I can't worry about over stimulating his brain or setting lofty goals if he loses a fight. With enough skill he might even be able to shield his back from that brand.'**_ Kurama thought heavily.

" **Naruto,"** Kurama began, looking down at the small boy still curled up on top of his left paw.  **"You have to wake up. There are things I need to teach you and we don't know how much time we have before your next fight."**

Naruto stirred, stretching out his body with a wide yawn. His eye's where still shadowed in pain but nowhere near as bad as before. Naruto was in deep thought,  _'When I got branded, it was the worst thing I had ever felt. When I got to my mindscape though, the Fox also looked like he was in pain. Does that mean we are more connected than he said? I guess it would explain why he wants to make me stronger but why didn't he tell me? Lack of trust I suppose, I still don't fully trust him but if we are going to be working together we should at least be friendlier.'_

Finding out that he quite liked the idea of having a friend, Naruto looked at the Fox and asked, "Hey Nine Tails, I know you're gonna tell me to shut up but just hear me out okay? I think I can sort of understand you now. You had your freedom taken away and got locked up just like me. We are both thought of as monsters but that's not the case. If we are going to work together we should treat each other a little bit nicer. I guess what I'm really trying to say is, do you want to be my friend?"

There was silence throughout the mindscape. Naruto was still looking the Fox in the eye, hoping he had said the right thing. Kurama blinked and then gave a snort.

Kurama was amused. A human wanted to be his friend? Still, he had not detected any kind of lie or misdirection when Naruto made his offer.  _ **'I highly doubt he meant best buddies. He is probably still suspicious of me, just as I am of him but he has a point. We are stuck together and I can't really keep calling him brat. I guess I'll give him my name but not the rest, he will have to earn the truth first.'**_ Making up his mind, Kurama gave his response.

" **Sure kid, my name's Kurama. Now that all the touchy feely stuff is out of the way, let's start this training huh? Most kids wouldn't be able to do this but I have faith in you."**

"Great!" In spite of the fact that he had just been branded, Naruto was smiling. "You're the first friend I've ever had. I know that I'm weak but I will become strong enough to protect my friends and that's a promise, believe it!"

Kurama could feel the emotion of the moment but chose to ignore it. Almost as if in after –thought Naruto said, with a slight smirk. "Oh and can you let my brand scar? I want to keep it as proof of my promise."

Kurama nodded before telling Naruto what he had wanted to say when he woke him up.  **"Now we need to move onto the next step of your training. The next stage you have to learn is how to mould my chakra into one of the five different nature transformations. This is quite hard but the results will be worth it. Basically, if someone with an affinity for the fire transformation used a fire jutsu it would be stronger and cost less chakra that someone without the fire affinity. I don't know your own nature affinity or how to discover it but that's not important yet.** **All you need to know is that I possess a Fire affinity and that I have already mastered it. I just have to train you so that you can use my chakra and nature at the same time. This might sound like a big shortcut but it will still be hard work. You and I both know that you have to master it and soon, otherwise-"** Kurama trailed off knowing that Naruto knew to what he was referring to.

Naruto gulped, he knew that Kurama was asking a lot but he also knew he was right. He had to do this, he just _had_ to.

xXx

Naruto spent the next four days practicing Kurama's nature transformation. It was hard work and in that entire time Naruto could only make fire chakra appear on the palm of his right hand. It resembled a small unstable ball of fire flickering as if a strong breeze would snuff it out. Kurama also told him to try and walk up the side of his cell with chakra. At the start he couldn't even stick to it, but with continual practice he eventually managed to stand on the wall with his right hand aflame.

Naruto also inspected every part of his cell that he could reach. The walls were solid and the steel bars too strong for him to budge, even with Kurama's chakra gloves. There was no way to escape his cell and he had no chance of beating his captors when they fetched him for his fights. Naruto would just have to keep doing what he was told for the moment until he had a good chance for freedom.  _ **'If I had managed to trick him into freeing me, the cell would have no hope in keeping me here but now I am sworn to help Naruto and freeing me now would kill him.'**_

Kurama knew that he had skipped a large chunk of Naruto's actual ninja training. It would've been far easier if he could teach him ninjutsu but he didn't know how. Using hand signs to cast a flame would be infinitely easier than dropping him into the deep end and starting with nature transformation but Kurama couldn't do that; he had no idea what the actual hand signs looked like. On the plus side, if he did manage to escape and get back to Konoha, Naruto would be the strongest six year old in the entire village. He would pick up their teachings in ninjutsu faster since his chakra control would be at a higher level than others his age.

The injury suffered from the brand was healing slowly. It still hurt a lot but in four days Kurama had managed to heal it as if two weeks had past. The mark itself was nothing special, just a plain circle four centimetres in diameter located roughly two centimetres above his left kidney. In order for the mark to scar, Kurama was forced to slow his healing factor down to a crawl.

The sound of his door being unlocked caught Naruto's attention. He looked towards it and spied Akari looking back at him with a sadistic grin.

"Hope you're feeling better brat, it's fighting day for you,"

Naruto swallowed, he didn't know if he had trained enough for another fight. He also knew that Akari would not give him a choice in the matter, so he sighed and walked over to his door, following Akari all the way to then into the pit.

Naruto could see his opponent across on the other side. It looked like a twelve year old boy with an ugly scar running down the left side of his face but apart from that he was utterly unremarkable.

" **Naruto, do you want me to take control here? I do not believe you have trained enough yet,"** questioned Kurama.

"Let me have at least a minute or two. If I'm going to get stronger I  **will**   **need**  to fight my own battles and not rely on you to save me," Naruto replied, a touch sombrely.

" **Okay but remember what we discussed. Surprise and speed without exposing yourself."**

Naruto eyed his opponent with a grim expression.

"FIGHT!" the announcement for action came through.

Naruto breathed out spreading out his legs evenly and raising his hands up. Naruto was watching his opponent charge towards him. Waiting until his opponent was almost upon him Naruto concentrated on his right hand and fire burst into life in his palm. He thrust his right palm forward into the chest of his opponent with as much speed and strength as he could manage without losing his balance. The older boy screamed in pain and backed away several paces, clutching at his chest in agony. Naruto could see the indent of his strike seared into skin.

Not letting this opportunity go to waste, Naruto stepped forward and grabbed the other boy's face with his burning right hand. Cries echoed throughout the underground arena as Naruto scorched his opponent's eyes. Stepping back as the blinded boy started flailing about randomly; Naruto flanked the poor boy and started choking him to death with his left arm wrapped around his throat. A tormented choking could be heard as the boy desperately struggled to breath. Sub-consciously, Naruto's arm relieved some of the pressure. Despite his earlier resolve, killing another boy had affected him too deeply. However, Naruto only received a painful elbow to his ribs for his moment of mercy. Steeling himself, Naruto choked the boy even harder than before. Even with the nails digging into his forearm, Naruto didn't let up on the pressure and the boy's life slipped away.

Naruto let the limp body fall away as he stepped back. The all too familiar feeling of disgust rose inside him but Naruto quickly shoved it away, into the dark corner of his mind. He couldn't afford to fall apart now, not when he actually had a friend to lose. As Naruto continued to suppress his emotions, a distinct numbness started in his hands and feet. Naruto didn't really pay it much heed,  _'Perhaps this is what strong people feel? Lack of feeling makes it easier to fight.'_ This new sensation wasn't physical; it was all mental as a result of Naruto giving himself physiological damage as he suppressed his feelings of disgust, sadness and anger.

Kurama himself was disturbed.  _ **'Perhaps all the suffering Naruto has endured broke him? Or these circumstances are forcing him to become a colder person? A boy of six shouldn't be having these kinds of thoughts. I did promise to make him stronger but at what cost? Will the boy who wouldn't let sadness stop his smile have to die so that we don't have to undergo any more pain?**_

Kurama knew that these kinds of questions would never be answered but he still could not help but feel regret at the death of Naruto's innocence.  _ **'I have to ensure that he doesn't become some kind of crazed cold-blooded killer, who wipes out life without a second thought,'**_

xXx

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood next to his office window, looking out over his village. As his eyes surveyed the place that he had fought for his entire life, he couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.  _'In ten minutes it will be the fifth of August,_ ' Hiruzen hated that date. It was the commemoration date that poor little Naruto had been abducted from Konoha; this approaching fifth would be the third one.

Holding the position of Hokage, Sarutobi knew that it was his responsibility to care for and guide the people of the Hidden Leaf but the weight of that responsibility was getting heavier every year. Realising that moping over the date was not going to accomplish anything, Hiruzen stepped over to his desk and switched on his lamp. His desk flooded with light while the rest of the room was barely visible with flickering candles. Not bothering to turn the rest of his lights on, he attempted to continue his paperwork while he sat alone in the darkened office. Unbidden, Hiruzen's thoughts returned to his dead successor and his failures.

Not only had he failed Minato by not fulfilling his final wishes but he had also failed Minato's son, Naruto, in so many ways. Naruto had been an innocent boy, full of life and not understanding the burden he carried within him nor why the villagers hated him so. While Hiruzen knew that Naruto was not the most popular figure in the village, he had never truly known the extent of his people's animosity.

Their true feelings were made very clear to him when not even two days had passed after the kidnapping when the people, mainly ignorant civilians, started talking amongst themselves. Not about how tragic the forcible removal of an innocent boy was but about how relieved they were that the 'Demon Brat' was finally gone and that their village was once again safe. Though they had never touched a hair upon Naruto's head they had hurt him. Shunning his existence and telling thier children to avoid Naruto had hurt the boy far more than they realised. 

When the second anniversary of Naruto's disappearance and presumed death happened, a majority of the civilians and a small number of Leaf shinobi held a small celebration, revelling in the fact that the monster that had caused so much suffering had perished.

When Hiruzen was informed of this by his Dog ANBU, he felt disgust flow through his body. The next day he announced to the village his disappointment in them. He then chose to reveal the true parentage of Naruto, having kept it a secret due to the massive bounty that the Village Hidden in the Stone had placed on Minato or any of his family. Thinking that Naruto was dead meant that there was no longer any reason for his silence on the matter, it also gave him a small sense of relish when they suddenly realised the extent of their actions as well as the repercussions of them.

After the truth was released, a profound change swept over the village. Although still forbidden to talk about Naruto's special tenant, everyone suddenly felt very small. All of Hiruzen's reasons as to why Naruto was not a demon but a hero who jailed the demon everyday at great effort was revealed to the adult population. A profound shame descended on the village with many of the most zealous anti Naruto villagers in turn becoming pariahs.

Sighing softly to himself, Hiruzen was broken from his dwelling of past events by a knock on his door.

"Enter," he replied and Jiraiya stepped through into the Hokage's office. Jiraiya did not look quite as cheerful these days anymore. The sudden vanishing of his godson had possibly weighed more on him then even on Hiruzen himself.

"Sensei," Jiraiya began before shutting the door behind him while also clicking on the ceiling light. "I have some vague news that you need to hear. One of my sources informed me of a group called Akatsuki. They're a group of S rank missing ninja that have come together and are performing large scale criminal acts. There's also a whisper of a rumour that Akatsuki are also after the demon containers. Although I don't know if that's true I do know that Akatsuki are very real and very dangerous. However, if what is being rumoured is true, then it's possible that these guys are responsible for Naruto's disappearance."

Hiruzen, while listening to Jiraiya, had stuffed his pipe before lighting it. After hearing all of this, he leaned back, looking above Jiraiya's head in thought as he exhaled a lungful of smoke. A group of S rank missing ninja, this was a group that was highly dangerous. If the rumours were indeed true, Hiruzen needed answers from them. If he had proof that Naruto was dead Hiruzen would've been sad but been able to put it behind him. Not knowing meant that he couldn't bear the thought of possibly giving up hope that Naruto still lived.  _'Even though I hoped that he lived didn't stop me from revealing the truth of his parents. It was a risk but I could no longer bare the disgrace my people showed Naruto.'_

"Jiraiya, if what you say is true then we need to find out what they know. Even if they are not responsible they are still a massive threat and we need to know as much about them as possible. Is there anything else you can tell me about them?"

"Well they seem to be in a phase of recruitment, with at least two S class missing ninja's falling under the radar; a Kakuzu from Hidden Waterfall and Riku from Hidden Grass. Not one of my sources can tell me where those two went but connecting two, admittedly vague, dots makes me think they are now Akatsuki as well. The biggest problem is that I have no idea where they are located or how many members they have although I do have several tracking toads out searching for both them and Naruto."

There was a silence in the office as both men once again found their thoughts turning to the missing child. Hiruzen looked briefly at his clock, it read 12:02am, it was officially the day of Naruto's kidnapping. Reaching into one of his desk drawers, the Third Hokage pulled out a bottle of sake and two cups and after filling both he gestured for Jiraiya to take one.

"To Naruto and to hope," both men said, draining their cups in one go. This had become a small tradition for the pair of them, although both wished everyday that they would receive news and be able to stop it. The sudden appearance of his Weasel ANBU kneeling in Hiruzen's office caught him by surprise.

"Itachi, why are you here? I would've thought that you would be working on the plan with Shisui," questioned Hiruzen.

"The plan has failed Lord Hokage. Shisui has died and one of his Mangekyo Sharingan was stolen by Danzo. I have come to report that Danzo has given me a new mission. To kill my entire clan but sparing my younger brother or to stand aside as the Uchiha wage their coup d'état and watch my clan, as well as many other loyal Leaf shinobi die. I already know that I would take the path that leads to the least amount of bloodshed but I wanted to inform you before acting."

This news greatly disturbed Hiruzen. It was classic Danzo, taking the most ruthless action for the betterment of the village. Although he could admire parts of Danzo's loyalty, Hiruzen also knew that Danzo had many schemes that, while benefiting the Leaf, would also benefit him at the same time. Danzo was a slippery rat and Hiruzen knew to keep an eye on him but didn't want to believe his old team mate would stoop to these kinds of depths. Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya and asked him to seal the room for some privacy. When that was done he returned his attention to Itachi Uchiha.

"Itachi, I know that you are a noble soul and in another time you would have made a great Hokage. However fate is not on either of our sides. As the Third Hokage, I am officially changing Danzo's mission. Only kill the members of your clan that actually want to overthrow me. Spare the innocents; I will  **not**  abide their blood to be shed. Once this is done I have a new mission once you complete." Hiruzen paused as he took another drag from his pipe before continuing.

"After completing Danzo's mission, I will have no choice but to brand you a missing ninja and traitor. You shall have to flee and never return. Your new mission is to locate Naruto Uzumaki and find out what happened to him. Once this is done you are to infiltrate a group calling itself Akatsuki. You will in turn become Jiraiya's newest spy, and I shall let him inform you about how and when to contact him while undercover. This mission will be an S rank secret. Akatsuki appears to be very dangerous and we need eyes inside this organisation. I trust that you shall play your part very well and not arouse suspicion."

The gravity of the situation seemed to catch up with Hiruzen at that moment. Rubbing his hand over his face he sighed again but continued speaking.

"Itachi, you know that I never wanted this to happen. I respect your father and hoped that we could resolve this peacefully. I guess I underestimated Fugaku's resolve and regret that it came to this. As I said before, only kill the guilty, spare the children and civilians, this includes Sasuke. I give you my word that I shall do everything in my power to ensure that nothing shall happen to your brother while you are gone. It is my fervent hope that one day you may help in the destruction of this Akatsuki and return to Konoha as the loyal shinobi I know that you are."

Hiruzen gazed at Itachi but the ANBU mask prevented him from seeing any emotions that might've shown upon his face.

"I understand Lord Hokage, thank you for your kind words. I will not fail you or the village."

After saying this, Itachi stood to leave for Danzo's mission. Jiraiya, who had listened with great interest but stayed silent, handed Itachi a scroll detailing the ways that Itachi could get information back to him. Placing the scroll into a pouch on his belt, Itachi used a Body Flicker and left the office.

xXx

Pouring another drink for himself, Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to take this office? We both know you have the skill and I would love to spend some more time with my grandson; he just had his fifth birthday you know,"

Jiraiya now looked uncomfortable in his seat. He poured himself another drink while replying,

"I'm sorry Sensei but no. Even after you set the villagers straight by telling them about Naruto's parents, I don't think I will ever truly forgive this village for the way they treated him. My Will of Fire does still burn but only for the future generations, I have practically given up on the rest of them. I still think I failed as a godfather; I should've been here for him. Instead I let grief consume me over Minato and Kushina's death and buried myself in my work. If I can't live up to the responsibility of being a godfather, how can I handle the duty of being Hokage?"

Hiruzen sighed again,  _'I seem to be sighing far more these days,'_

"It's okay Jiraiya, I understand completely. I know that you would never be shackled by the chains of my position and if it weren't for the fact that there weren't any other suitable candidates for Hokage I would have resigned in protest years ago. The closest is Kakashi but he also has issues, not only with failing to let his ghosts rest but failing Minato's son as well. At the moment, you truly are the only real option as the Fifth Hokage unless Tsunade finds forgiveness for herself."

A small smirk appeared on Hiruzen's face as he said "I'm not even going to suggest Danzo as a candidate although he does have his uses. You know he discovered an error recorded with the barrier teams' reports, spanning back the last six years or so? If it weren't for the fact that each team on duty had to deliver a report that was separate from the other teams, the error might never have been found. The error stated that it was fully functional for the duration of their shift but another report indicates that a small window was opened in the barrier for a short duration. The only problem is that all teams that had ever operated the barrier when these errors occurred had no obvious similarities."

Jiraiya was puzzled. "Do you mean to say that Danzo is trying to find out more information about Naruto as well?" That didn't fit with what Jiraiya knew about the man.

"Oh no," replied Hiruzen, "He just wanted to know how someone managed to breach our defences and disappear with, as he puts it, a village asset without detection. I am underselling just how well hidden this error was and it took him three long years of digging before he found something concrete."

"Wow, I can admire his dedication, if nothing else. I would appreciate being kept in the loop Sensei. If there is a traitor that sold out Naruto, I want the first shot at him." Jiraiya said in response.

When Hiruzen heard Jiraiya asking to be kept in the loop he felt a squirming sensation in his stomach. Realising that this was guilt from concealing certain information Hiruzen found himself sighing once again. Double checking that his office was fully sealed off so that nothing could be heard from the outside he steeled his nerve before speaking.

"Jiraiya, what I am about to say cannot leave this room. If the seals are not in place I don't want you even alluding to this subject. Do you understand?"

The serious tone of his Hokage caught Jiraiya by surprise. Straightening in his chair he nodded his head in understanding.

"The Daimyo of our country has only ever hinted but I believe that another clandestine organisation operates in the Elemental Nations. This is only a theory but I think that the other Daimyos have formed some kind of group that caters specifically to them and their, uh, tastes. Due to their sheer political power and the number of Samurai in their employ, this group would wield enormous power. If this is true, than no power we could field would be able to fight it. This idea stems from the fact that our Daimyo never confirmed my theory but forbade me from speaking of it to others. If Akatsuki didn't take Naruto than it is most likely that this, hypothetical, organisation is responsible."

Jiraiya was mentally reeling from Hiruzen's revelations. An organisation operating at the highest levels of government would certainly be powerful but that didn't explain why Hiruzen had taken this long to share something that could just be a theory. When Jiraiya voiced this thought Hiruzen gave a somber reply.

"I didn't tell you because one, there is no proof. Plus, if it is real than there is a real chance that another war occurs. If all the other Daimyo are a part of this conspiracy, than it might mean the other four nations annihilating our village to try and silence the truth. That is a risk I am not willing to take, not even for Naruto. Even if my feelings to my people changed for the worse, I still swore that I would protect them. Jiraiya, you cannot breathe a word of this to anyone but keep your eyes open."

Gulping, Jiraiya nodded again, still trying to wrap his head around the enormity of what he had been told and the possible consequences for knowing about it.

xXx

While drinking through the rest of the bottle, the two men shared a companionable silence. Jiraiya soon said his farewells and prepared to return to the field.

Hiruzen turned in his chair and gazed out his window again. He knew he should get some sleep, it would be a long day tomorrow, dealing with the aftermath of Itachi's actions but he couldn't do it. He had burned the midnight oil far more after Naruto's abduction, feeling as though he had not done enough as Hokage. He could increase security all he wanted; it would not stop the nightmares of a six year olds rotting corpse pointing at him accusingly for his incompetence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case it's not clear, it's been three years since Naruto's abduction at the end of the chapter. There is a time skip when Hiruzen Sarutobi appears. Originally, this was two separate chapters and it was easier to have a time skip but I already fused the first two chapters and decided to fuse chapters three and four. If it's too jarring, let me know and I'll change it.
> 
> I'm just not a fan of seeing 'Time skip: 3 years later' in the middle of a story. I find that it breaks the flow, personally. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

A crackling sound of electricity behind him was the only warning Naruto got before feeling a sharp pain on his back. Stumbling forward, Naruto turned around trying to get his opponent in sight before another attack could be launched.

"Lightning Release: Static Shock!" the cry came before Naruto could fully regain his senses. He threw himself to his left, feeling heat pass him by on his right. Rolling back up to his feet Naruto thrust his right hand out in front of him in the general direction of his attacker.

Flames burst out from his palm, fanning out in a narrow arc. Naruto focused and the arc became wider.  _'If I don't know his exact location, I have to hit a large area at once to give myself some time to think,'_

Naruto sustained his attack for another couple of seconds before cancelling it and moving to another spot in the pit.  _'Gotta keep moving, Kurama said that staying in one position too long just makes you an easier target.'_ Running back towards his right, Naruto saw a small shield made of lightning disperse, his opponent looking around frantically for Naruto. Seizing the opportunity, Naruto raised his right hand again and concentrated. A small compact ball of flame shot out at high speed, as fast as Naruto could manage. Before his attacker knew what had happen the fireball had connected with his chest.

The size of the attack meant that it had no real chance of ending the fight but it was quite distracting. The poor kid was desperately trying to fight through to pain knowing that Naruto would soon be upon him. Once again drawing upon Kurama's fiery chakra, Naruto launched a small torrent of continuous flame. It cooked the boy quite quickly but not fast enough to kill him instantly. His dying cries of agony reverberated around the pit. Naruto focused on increasing the intensity of his fire, trying to end the fight as quickly as possible; however, with his anxious efforts to end it quickly, he flew passed the temperature he had aimed for and vaporised all the water inside the boy. A disgusting, dehydrated corpse fell to the ground and applause sounded.

xXx

With the fight over, Naruto found his pumping blood cooling, quickly over taken by his usual numbness. Although Naruto had no idea how long he had been at The Pit he knew that it had to have been at least two years. Kurama believed it was closer to three but it really wasn't that important. What was important was that he was far stronger than the weak, scared boy who let himself be caught in an arm hold. Naruto had not counted how many people he had killed but he knew it was high. Every month or so, new kids would show their faces in the mess hall. Most of them didn't last long.

Ever since that strange numbness had begun, Naruto had found it easier to fight. He no longer felt horrible about himself although he didn't really feel much of anything these days. He couldn't afford the luxury of being disgusted by his actions; he needed to train so that he could uphold his promise.

Naruto had learned quickly from his first week here. The most important lesson was that quiet was good, silence was better. After receiving a rather painful but not major injury at a meal time had resulted in his involuntary howl of pain, Naruto was subjected to another brand, right next to the first one. Naruto had taken to simply whispering all of his conversations and biting his lip when in pain to prevent another mark being given. Even within his mindscape, Kurama had not heard Naruto's true voice since. Naruto also never tried to gain attention or acknowledgement; that could only lead to more suffering.

xXx

After being locked in his cell once again, Naruto sat down, resuming his training from where it had been left off. Focusing on Kurama's chakra, he converted it into fire and then tried to wrap his body with it. His previous efforts had resulted in burns all over his body but this time Naruto tried to shape the fiery chakra to reflect the heat outwards. He could see that this time he had more success. Instead of jumping the gun and turning up the heat, Naruto stood and made sure that his whole body was completely covered and then focused on sustaining the mode for as long as he could while moving his body through some basic exercises.

After four hours of constant practice, Naruto could hold his newly dubbed 'Fire Mode' for an hour without breaks. This mode was a massive step up from his current way of fighting. With his body covered in a shroud of fire, he could defend himself at all times and angles from physical attacks while also increasing the damage that his ordinary strikes could deal. However, even with his newest accomplishment Naruto didn't show any emotion on his face and his numbness didn't lift at all.

Naruto could feel his body changing to the chakra mode as well. It was almost as if his muscles had taken an almost fiery nature as well. It didn't increase his strength per say but made his movements faster, as if his muscles exploded with fire. Now came the hard part, Naruto while channelling Fire Mode tried manipulating his own chakra to flow through his body to increase his natural strength. This was far harder than Naruto had thought with his Fire Mode often going out before he could fully increase his body.

' _I can't let this stop me. If I can master these steps, I will be far stronger than anyone I have faced so far.'_

While his determination was admirable, it didn't make the process any easier. It was like trying to control a fire with one hand and balance on a ball at the same time. Focusing on one too much resulted in failure of both.

It wasn't until two days had passed that Naruto had his breakthrough. Instead of thinking of the process of two separate steps, he started the entire thing as one step. Mixing both his and Kurama's chakra together, he simply flooded his whole body with fire chakra and expelled the excess out of his body. This new mode was far superior to his original attempt, with the flames burning hotter with less effort and his bodily muscles having that quick response time with chakra enhanced strength. This new mode however, ate up chakra at a rather fast pace and Naruto could only hold it for as long as his own natural reserves lasted.

Once Naruto felt that he had the basics of his new Fire Mode down, he started thinking of ways to use it in battle.  _'Since no-one else knows about this mode yet, I can use that to make an opening. Everyone thinks that I can only shoot fire from my right hand so I guess they will try and flank my left side. Even though they are all wrong, I can use fire with both hands, I just want to keep that up my sleeve in case I need that edge. If I wait until they start their attack and then activate Fire Mode, I can inflict damage on them without doing anything else._

_That won't work for future fights though. This cell is too small for me to see how much faster my body is but I bet it will take everyone by surprise. I can still use my right hand for fire attacks to. I guess I should only use Fire Mode when my adversary is close enough for me to punch to conserve my chakra reserves.'_

Nothing else of interest happened until Naruto's next fight, he had only trained, slept and eaten in that time. As he entered The Pit again, Naruto could see that his opponent had some kind of ninja training. Kurama could sense the girl's chakra coils flaring outward in preparation for this fight.

"FIGHT!" The usual announcement came and Naruto felt his normal numbness recede somewhat with anticipation for the fight to come.

Naruto's thoughts about how this fight would go proved to be accurate was the girl quickly dashed to Naruto's left trying to get away from his right hand. Naruto turned and fired a small burst of flame at her

She dodged it easily enough then made several hand signs and shouted "Earth Release: Boulder Shot," A large boulder rose out of the ground and was flung towards him at high speed. Taken aback by this attack, Naruto quickly rolled to his right. He could hear the girl shout out another jutsu but couldn't make out the words.

With the boulder passing by him safely, Naruto jumped to his feet, scanning the entire arena but not seeing his adversary.

" **Naruto, below you, dodge!"** Kurama shouted at him with urgency.

Naruto jumped back just in time to dodge the girls fist as it passed by his face as the girl left the ground she had been submerged in.  _'This is my chance!'_

Naruto activated his Fire Mode and grabbed the girl's arm burning her flesh as he used his new strength to pull her out of the ground entirely. Grabbing her in a bear hug, Naruto squeezed with all his might while increasing the heat of his flames as high as he could. Sickening cracks could be heard as Naruto felt her ribs breaking under the force he placed them under. Not stopping there, Naruto kept squeezing until she went completely limp in his arms. He let her go and jumped back, he saw a charred and blackened body. Not taking any chances like he had in the past, Naruto unleashed more flames and reduced the corpse into ash. He wouldn't take another hit in the back after thinking he had won, not  _again_.

The cold numbness seeped back into Naruto as he once again, got locked in his cell. Naruto quickly felt himself returning to his routine of training, trying to think of ways to make himself stronger while inside him Kurama was deep in thought.

' _ **This Naruto is not one that I care to see. He is not the same boy I used to know, being replaced by this whispering killing machine. I doubt anything I say now will change anything, just like my last attempts to connect with him. It's almost as if he fears that by letting me in, he will lose what makes him strong.**_

_**He needs someone in his life but it looks like it can't be me because his life revolves around protecting me. He really has taken that promise to help each other seriously. Or perhaps he fights so hard to protect his only friend? All I know is, his mental state is deteriorating and I can't do a single thing to help him.'** _

xXx

Akari was having a heated discussion with her supervisor and former captain, Toshiro Takahashi.

"Cap, I hear what you're saying but we are still making money here. After the expense of capturing the little brats it doesn't make sense to just close us down!"

"Akari, there will always be that small niche market that loves watching little kids kill each other but the fact is that the majority of our cliental prefers more savage and technical fights that adults bring. Each month your business brings in less and less revenue, yes you are still positive but it won't be that way for long. I like the way you run things here Akari.

"I'm doing you a favour here, in honour of our shared service in the Kinkaku Force. I'm giving you a chance to end things with a bang and make others take notice of you and your skills." Toshiro paused for breath. He walked over and leaned upon the right side of her office's wall before continuing.

"I'll also give you a position working with the adult side of things so that you won't be out of a job; just make things interesting fast while whittling down your numbers. Mako has already been told to stop bringing in more kids although we both know he won't stop catching them, just bringing them  _here_. Make as much money as you can then you can move on to greener pastures."

Akari sat in her chair; it was a lot of information to take in. She knew that Toshiro didn't have to do this and she was grateful,  _'He's probably only sticking up for me since I save his life while we served together.'_

Still though, this was her work, it was more than that. This was a job that she truly enjoyed although nothing could last forever. ' _How can I achieve what he asks?'_ Akari pondered before she had a sudden brainwave and her sadistic grin marred her features.

"Okay Cap, I got it. Get the word out that next week is going to be the biggest event we have held. Explain that it's gonna be a free for all with all the kids I've got left. I'll even throw in an incentive to make them all fight harder. This is gonna be a blast."

xXx

A week had passed by but nothing had changed for Naruto. He had managed to make his fire hotter than ever before and started trying to mould his own chakra into his natural affinity. The only problem was that Kurama didn't know what it was so he had Naruto perform various drills to try and find his own affinity. So far nothing had really worked but Naruto could almost feel his own chakra taking on a new shape; like it was somehow becoming sharper.

The familiar sound of his door unlocking rang out and Naruto stood up. It was fighting time. Naruto knew something was different when he entered The Pit. The arena had a lot more fighters in it than normal. Looking up, the stands held far more people than Naruto had seen previously. A large screen was lowered from the roof and Akari's face appeared on it.

"Alright listen up you little maggots. Today is the last day of The Pit. There are about thirty two kids here and you are all gonna fight today until there is only one left standing. The winner gets to leave!" That got everyone's attention.

" **Naruto, I know you have what it takes but don't lose yourself,"** Kurama said; a hint of concern could be heard in his voice. He didn't recieve any kind of response from Naruto which worried Kurama.  _ **'How long will it take until Naruto is so cold that there is no return?'**_

Looking around, Naruto saw a few of the kids talking, it seemed like they wanted to form a short truce to help them live a little longer. Before much more discussion was held however, Akari's voice cut in.

"Make it bloody you brats, fight!"

Naruto tensed, looking around and while trying to come up with a game plan on short notice. He had never experianced a fight with more than three other people and now he had to survive one with thirty two?

" **I would stay on the edge of the arena Naruto, only fight those who approach you and try not to use big flashy attacks. That would probably just attract attention and might force the others to team up to take out a bigger threat."** Kurama suggested. He didn't want any unnecessary risks to be taken.

Naruto agreed as he started moving to his left, keeping his right hand free to attack towards the centre of the arena. A boy charged at him suddenly with a crazed look in his eyes. Ducking under the wild swing, Naruto brought his right hand up, as if he was going to deliver a chop, in front of his newest opponent. Naruto formed a thin triangular blade of flame that enveloped his entire hand which cut through the boy's chest like paper. The heat of his 'blade' was so intense it cauterised the wound instantly, although the kid was dead at the moment of Naruto's attack.

Not sparing the falling corpse a glance, he moved on. Looking around, the death toll had risen at an alarming rate. Blood had spilled everywhere, with bodies littering the ground. Naruto dealt with a girl who tried to take him down with another fiery blade, this time cutting her from right shoulder to left hip while dodging her rock covered fists. As the two pieces fell to the ground Naruto heard a boy's voice cut through the air,

"Earth Release: Grand Quake!" and a massive wave of earth flew out in all directions from near the centre of the pit. It caught a large number of the weaker fighters in the attack and thinned out the pack quite nicely. Naruto activated his new fire mode and crossed his arms in front of him in preparation of the attack. He managed to burn hot enough to melt the stone at the cost of a fair chunk of his chakra.

In return for his actions, the exhausted boy got zapped by a large amount of electricity while trying to recover from his loss of chakra.  _'You were right Kurama, don't draw attention to ourselves.'_

Naruto spied his next adversary; it was an older boy who looked to be albino however the detail that had caught Naruto's attention was the fact that he had somehow acquired a sword. The boy hacked away with abandon, a look of pure joy adorning his face. He raised his swordless left hand and shot something out of it, killing another victim.  _'What was that? What did he shoot? It looked rather small and whit- wait, did he shoot his finger bone?'_

" **Naruto, that brat seems to have an unusual Bloodline, one that looks like he can manipulate his bones in weird ways. I'd wager that sword of his is made of bone."**

Suddenly, this strange boy looked directly at Naruto. A feral grin formed as he charged towards Naruto, raising his sword in preparation to strike. Realising that he needed to move, Naruto took several steps to his right while flaring his blade again. Fire met bone as the two boys collided, Naruto noticing that despite the heat his blade couldn't slice through the bone sword. The blade lock ended as the new boy attacked Naruto with a ferocity that he had not experienced before. Naruto knew instantly that he was outclassed; he had never gotten any kind of training with hand to hand combat, let alone with swords and this guy was moving as though he had used one his entire life.

Before he knew it, Naruto had received several cuts on his arms and legs although they were quickly healed thanks to Kurama.  _'I need to get away from him, there is no way that I can beat this guy fighting like this,'_

" **Naruto behind you, dodge!"**

Naruto, trusting his friend implicitly, ducked and rolled to his left. A small fireball flew past him, right where he had been standing before the warning. Risking a quick glance away from the bone guy, Naruto saw a new opponent eyeing him warily.

" **Don't forget kid, there are other fighters here, you could easily take a shot in the back. You will have to fight dirty,"**

Naruto wanted to ask how Kurama had known the attack was coming but held his tongue. That was not really important right now. He saw the new fighter go through several hand signs before saying "Fire Release: Fire Blast!" as another fireball was launched at him, this time slightly larger than the previous one. In retaliation, Naruto raised his right hand and fired a larger burst of fire. He saw his attack meet the boy's and was than amazed when his fire seemed to 'eat' the other attack and grow larger.

The other boy had not expected this and before he could dodge was hit with the combined attack. Hoping that was enough to finish the kid off, Naruto returned his attention to the bone guy however he was not quick enough. The point of the bone sword stabbed into his right shoulder, with the tip piecing deep. Naruto didn't know how or why, all he knew was that his right arm was now hanging limply and in great pain. Despite the shock of the pain, Naruto bit back his impulse to cry out, simply gritting his teeth and allowing a soft growl out.

Raising his left hand, Naruto tried to palm thrust at the bone guy's face. In response, the right cheek of his adversary had been parted as the cheek bone formed into a point, stabbing into Naruto's left hand and lodging it there. The bone guy let go of his sword and with both hands, gripped both of Naruto's shoulders while sweeping out Naruto's legs out from under him. Landing on his back Naruto looked up as bone guy knelt on his right, opening his mouth to speak,

"You, you're strong. I need to kill you to get stronger," the boy's voice started with a crazed tone but had starting getting crazier as he continued, "I need to do this, I  **need**  it. I'm going to stab you over and over and then I'm going to eat your heart!"

' _Eat my heart!? This guy is crazy!'_ Naruto knew that Kurama could heal his damaged shoulder but that it might take too long. He was pulled from his thoughts as he was stabbed again, this time in his stomach, then again in his right hip. Desperation lanced through Naruto and he drew upon his own chakra, knowing that Kurama was focusing on healing his wounds.

In sheer desperation, he pushed the chakra out of left palm. A sudden gust of air surprised both boys before a blade of wind sliced through bone guy's head. The attack was so sudden he didn't have time to harden his bones with his chakra and the wind ended up cutting through with ease. Blood and brain matter rained down onto Naruto's face and he gagged turning to his side and standing, trying to get away from the mess. With a soft grunt, he removed the bone sword from his shoulder.

Wiping his face, Naruto surveyed the pit. It looked like most of the fighters had been killed already with only a handle left. Deciding to catch his breath and let Kurama heal his wounds properly, Naruto did his best to clean himself up.

" **Okay Naruto, that's all the damage healed. It looks like your own nature affinity is Wind which works out quite nicely for us. Combining wind and fire techniques makes an even stronger blaze that burns hotter than normal fire jutsus. It would take a much more powerful water jutsu to counter a, for lack of a better word, Scorch attack."**

" **I know you have no practice using Wind but you are going to have to learn fast. Only the strongest fighters are left by now and using just Fire might not be enough. You have no other choice, you can do this."** Kurama said.

Naruto knew Kurama was right, he simply looked at his left hand and focused on drawing chakra out. Unfortunately it was ordinary and in no way resembled wind. He thought back to how he first used Wind; he had wanted to stop the boy from stabbing him and simply used his chakra as a weapon. Trusting Kurama and his unknown power to sense attacks, Naruto closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly how his arm had felt. It had been light, as if it had lost most of its weight and in some way his chakra had felt  _sharp._

After that thought, Naruto brought his chakra back to his left hand, willing it to be sharp, almost seeing it being ground; just like how he had used to sharpen sticks back in the village, grinding them against the wall to make it sharp. Opening his eyes, Naruto could see a swirling mass of air whirling around his left hand. Concentrating, he raised it slightly; firing a small burst of air at the ground in front of him and a small slice mark appeared. He knew he needed more practice but there was still a bloody free for all happening all around him, he had just been lucky to receive this brief respite.

Looking left, Naruto saw another boy near the wall of the pit. It appeared as if he was also trying to regain his breath. Deciding to take advantage of an out of breath opponent, Naruto charged him bringing up his left hand as he did so. He fired two small blades of wind towards the boy who only just managed to dodge them; however he didn't have the speed to dodge the burst of flame from Naruto's right hand. The boy gave a strangled cry as he was burned but it got cut off abruptly as another Wind blade slit his throat.

Turning back towards the centre of the pit Naruto was suddenly hit by a red whip across his face. Fighting through the pain, Naruto looked around and saw his assailant; it was a teenage girl who was standing in the biggest pool of blood in the entire pit. She went through a series of hand signs and said "Water Release: Water whip," and another whip rose out of the blood flying towards Naruto.

He dodged to his left while trying to think of a way to attack her. Naruto released one of his best fire bursts towards her but it simply hit a wall of blood and turned into steam. A truly disgusting smell filled the air as some blood burned putting out his fire.  _'So she is using the blood like water. Fire won't work here then. Good lord that smell is bad but how do I get her?'_

"Water Release: Water Burst!"

Naruto was forced to roll away to his right as a large wave of blood flew by, impacting against the wall behind him in a gruesome starburst. He raised his left hand and fired the sharpest wind blade he could manage. The girl tired to dodge it but the blade was too wide and it nicked her left arm but it was far from a telling wound. As she grimaced in pain, she went through another set of hand signs,

"Water Release: Raging Torrent!"

A large amount of the blood rose up, spinning itself into a drill. It spiralled towards Naruto at incredible speed and he found that he could not dodge in time. At the last second he channelled his Scorch mode in a desperate attempt at defence. The impact slammed Naruto into the wall behind him and he felt the air leave his lungs in a rush. The blood had managed to extinguish his fire mode but most of the force had been stopped. Although that's not to say that it didn't hurt like hell.

Gasping for breath Naruto fell to his knees and looked at the girl.  _'How can I get her? My fire goes out and she can dodge my wind attacks. Kurama said I can combine the two elements but wouldn't she just dodge my Scorch blades as well? I need to attack faster – wait that's it.'_

Forcing himself to his feet, he channelled his wind chakra into a drill very similar to the one he had just been hit with. Pulling Kurama's fire into his right hand, he turned the heat up as high as he could manage before extending both hands and releasing both attacks at the same time.

His drill made out of wind fused with the burst of fire resulting in an intense blaze that spun at great speed straight at the girl using blood. Due to his inexperience, Naruto's drill wasn't quite as fast as the water one and the girl had just enough time for one final jutsu.

"Water Release: Water Prison,"

Blood rose up and encased the girl in a protective shell as she attempted to shield herself from the flames. Her efforts proved to be useless however as the combined power of Naruto's attack managed to drill straight through the water bubble as well the poor girl's chest. She coughed out some of her own blood before slumping over dead.

That last attack had drained most of Naruto's reserves which wasn't good. He looked around warily trying to see if any other fighters were going to attack him. As far as he could tell there were only two other fighters remaining and they were busy trying to kill each other. Seeing a chance to take both of them by surprise, Naruto drew upon the very last of his chakra and moulded it into two very thin but fast drills of wind. He focused on making them spin as fast as he could while keeping them thin, when he was satisfied he fired them both at the last fighters while also adding more fire chakra to his wind.

The sheer speed of his attack took everyone by surprise. Not just himself, but the spectators and Akari to although most importantly it had caught his adversaries off guard as well. Both of them died at the same time with fiery drills burning out their hearts.

Exhausted, Naruto fell to the ground praying that the ordeal was finally over. A thunderous applause could be heard as the audience actually stood up in ovation. His brief feeling of disgust was washed away by his returning numbness. This time however Naruto almost felt cold, as if the heat of his body had left him along with his feelings. Why was he so cold?

"Congratulations brat, you win this event. Oh and by the way, I was lying when I said the winner gets to leave," Akari let out a highly amused laugh, "You actually get to graduate and fight against our adult fighters seeing that you killed the last of our young ones."

The cold was suffocating and the numbness had starting to eat away at him. Naruto could feel himself being carried in a detached way. He found himself deposited into a very large cell with a lot of adults in it.

"Okay brat, all adults share one cell. The walls, floor, ceiling and the bars are all reinforced with seals but the best deterrent against escaping we have is the other fighters. If someone tries to escape, the others will get punished to which stops most attempts before we even have to step in.

No killing in the cell but other than that, anything goes. Even if you are injured you will have to fight. The number of fighters picked may vary from time to time. Like three fighters in with only one winner for example,"

Naruto heard it all but gave no sign that he had understood anything. Looking around slowly he saw five distinct groups as one of the adults in the cell called out to him, "Hey kid, what village you from?"

At the question, all the groups turned to see their new cellmate.

"K-Konoha," he whispered out in a stammer. This new cold sensation was eating away at him. He almost felt as if his mind was slowly dying.

The group standing on Naruto's left approached him and a woman knelt down next to him. She was short, with black tresses that framed her pretty face. She gave him a small smile and asked,

"Hey there, I'm Mikoto Uchiha. These five people with me are all from Konoha. What's your name?"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki," he replied in a whisper, looking at the ground.

Naruto missed the shocked look pass over Mikoto's face. He also missed the other group members exchange significant glances with one another. He did not miss the small sniff that Mikoto gave or the words that followed them.

"I'm sorry Naruto. God, I'm so sorry. We all failed you and let you down. I guess you must hate us for how the village treated you but I want you to know that we all feel horrible about it now. I'm just so happy that you are alive, everyone thought you were dead."

Naruto was still gazing at the ground, trying to sooth the sudden war of emotion that had flared up inside of him. Cold and numb were fighting against anger, relief and a terrible sadness and Naruto was overwhelmed by it all. It was a testament to how much Naruto was fighting for control of himself that he didn't react with hostility when Mikoto's arms encircled him, pulling him into a hug; his first hug, an actual real hug.

"Please, I hope you can forgive me Naruto. I failed you once but I swear I won't ever fail again." She whispered into his ear.

Perhaps it was the fact that Naruto was receiving, for the first time, an embrace that wasn't aggressive or maybe it was the fact that for the first time someone had apologised and asked him for forgiveness. Or possibly it was the simple fact that he was no longer alone, maybe it was all three but Naruto felt the cold leave him and feeling return to his limbs.

He slowly lifted his arms and returned the hug, quite tentatively, almost as if he expected to be scolded for it. When he wasn't and Mikoto's arms tightened in response to his embrace he felt his walls come down. Those carefully constructed barriers designed to stop him from feeling sad or disgust, to keep him strong. They all crumbled and he sobbed into Mikoto's shoulder. He was still as silent as the grave but he was finally letting himself feel once again. The pain ached in his chest but there was also strange warmth there as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know, battle royale's suck. Sorry but I needed Akari to think of something really big to kill off the kids. This was the most logical answer, I suppose i could've done a tournament but I also wanted to try my hand at writing a chaotic battle. 
> 
> Yeah, Mikoto is alive here. She avoided the Uchiha Massacre. I'll go into details next chapter. What do you guys think about the chapter length? 
> 
> Please review
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Mikoto felt a strange clenching in her chest as she gazed down at the boy sleeping with his head on her lap. Naruto had silently sobbed himself to the point of exhaustion.  _'This boy, I can't believe he's alive. The whole village had given up on him and he was here the entire time. I can't fail this time.'_

It had been roughly a year since Mikoto's abduction and addition to The Pit. Before her disappearance, she had been living with the guilt that she had failed her friend Kushina. Add the fact that she felt a failure as a mother to Sasuke and Mikoto's mental state had not been the best. A depressed condition made her a far too easy target to kidnap as she walked nearby the village walls.

She was roused from her thoughts by a whispered but frantic conversation by her fellow leaf members.

"How, how could this happen? How is he alive?" asked Koba. He was a short but stout man with the red tattoos that marked him as an Inuzuka. He was bobbing up and down in excitement.

"I don't know but we have to keep him that way," replied Hitomi her white eyes shining with determination. "We all know his history now, if it's the last thing I do, I will see him back to Konoha. I swear it on my Hyuga pride." Hitomi lowered her gaze to Naruto's face; a lopsided smile graced her features as she did so.

"Well said Hitomi, I suggest we don't mention his history again. It's too volatile for others to know however, the Will of Fire burns in all of us and we have to preserve those flames with Naruto here." Kaito said in response to Hitomi's words. Kaito was a man of average height but broad shoulders indicative of the physical training he did with his buddy Might Guy. His most defining feature was that he had a unique scar over the left side of his face, as if someone had dragged his face along gravel with a lot of force.

Kaito, and by extension the other Leaf shinobi, knew that Naruto would have more enemies than he could possibly imagine. With the power of Uzumaki blood and the talent of his father, Naruto could quite possibly become the most targeted ninja of Konoha's history. They  **couldn't**  let that information out.

"Kaito and Hitomi have the right of it. I could not call myself a proud member of our village without at least gaining Naruto's forgiveness. I... owe him that much at least." Sora stated with a hint of shame in his voice. He looked at the ground, unable to meet anyone's eye as he recalled the harsh words and glares he would often send the 'Demon Brat' in his ignorance.

Muta had remained silent throughout this discussion thus far but gave his thoughts in the short and logical Aburame way. "I agree with you all, our goal is set." Muta knew that his group had all resolved themselves to saving this poor boy from his terrible circumstances even at the cost of their own lives.

Mikoto herself didn't say anything but when she bent down and delivered a soft kiss to Naruto's brow they had their answer. A strange feeling of contentment flowed between group members. They knew they would die but now they had a common goal, one that was far more important than merely fighting for oneself. The group all fell into a companionable silence knowing that they all felt the same.

xXx

Naruto was in his mindscape, deep thought.  _'Leaf villagers huh? Mikoto said everyone felt bad about what they did. Is she telling the truth?'_ While Naruto didn't have a concrete answer to that he knew that his gut was telling him that she was trustworthy.  _'She hugged me. Why did it feel so good? How did she stop the numbness? How can I feel better than I have in a long time after just one hug?_

_All this time I thought I was stronger by not feeling anything. So why do I feel so good right now?'_

No matter how long he analysed her actions, he couldn't understand why one simple move had disarmed him so thoroughly.

" **I believe it's what you humans call empathy. She truly knows that you have suffered and wishes to help you. The fact that you hadn't gotten a hug before is probably another reason why she affects you so."** Stated Kurama, he was delighted that Naruto had finally started the process of opening up and was also pleased that there was now someone else to help him train his host.  **"Even though she is an Uchiha, I do not dislike this woman as much as the rest of her clan. I have a unique ability to sense malicious intent, which gives me some measure to sense attacks from other people, and I can't sense anything like that from this woman.**

 **This is a good opportunity for you, kid; these guys are Leaf shinobi and should be able to explain things to you that I can't. You should learn all you can."** Naruto nodded in agreement and focused on leaving his mindscape.

xXx

His eyes opened to see Mikoto's face looking down at him. She wore an expression of such tenderness and care that Naruto was stumped; no one had  **ever**  looked at him like that before, like they cared.

"Did you have a nice nap? I don't know if you recall what I said earlier but my name's Mikoto. I am sorry for not being able to see the boy from the beast and I feel ashamed at my actions. I hope you can forgive me and I would like to be your friend."

Mikoto took it slow, she wanted to know many things but overwhelming Naruto with questions might not be the best idea. Instead she settled for smiling at him with as much warmth as she could muster.

Naruto's gut was telling him that she was being honest here and there was still a small spark of that happy-go-lucky kid inside of him, it just had to escape the numbness. Looking her in the eyes he whispered, "I think you're telling the truth. I would like a friend but I also need to get stronger. Can you help me?"

Mikoto, taking the fact that Naruto spoke in whispers in her stride, merely turned her smile into a grin and replied "Of course I can, we will all help you as much as we can,"

Following this short discussion, Mikoto questioned Naruto about his abilities and he explained about his Fire Mode and new Wind powers. She was quite shocked at his progress as well as the fact that he did all this without hand signs.  _'He learned how to fly before learning how to walk. To just jump straight into nature transformation attacks without hand signs makes him a genius,'_

Her shock at his ability was nothing to the astonishment she felt when Naruto explained that not only was the Nine Tailed Fox helping Naruto, but that he was his friend and called Kurama. Now that she knew his teacher, understanding slowly came into Mikoto's mind. ' _He can't teach him hand signs or jutsu because he didn't know how. Does Kurama even have hands?_

After this very surprising conversation, Mikoto began training Naruto in a more contemporary way. She showed Naruto all twelve hand signs and had him practise forming them as she explained what they did.

"Hand signs help shinobi mould, shape and control their chakra in different ways to produce ninjutsu. Each sign affects one's chakra flow in different ways meaning that truly powerful or complex jutsu usually need many signs before activation. However, mastering a jutsu allows the body to familiarize itself to the chakra flow and possibly lower the needed amount of signs to complete it.

The Second Hokage is a good example. The Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet jutsu originally needed forty four signs but he mastered it to the degree that he only needed one.

That means being great at making multiple signs at high speed and accuracy generally makes a ninja better. There are exceptions of course but I'll stop the lecture here."

Naruto went through each sign rigorously. He went slowly at first, ensuring that his hands were making the correct shapes and gradually getting faster. He also changed the pattern of the signs so that he got practise making them after the previous sign had been different. He was so absorbed in perfecting his signs that he didn't notice that nearly an hour had passed.

The Leaf shinobi had been quietly conversing while keeping an eye on Naruto's progress. They were all surprised at his diligence and perfectionism. Kaito got to his feet and walked over to Naruto and asked about his skills in hand to hand combat. After realising that he had no formal training he immediately started instructing Naruto in the academy style taijutsu. Kaito knew that the academy style was simple at best but provided a stable base for shinobi to begin forming their own unique fighting styles. After teaching him several different patterns he had Naruto perfect them.

xXx

Muta was concerned, the cell in which all the adults resided had no privacy. Against one wall was a simple hole in the ground that served as the cell's only toilet. No walls or beds existed and one always had to be vigilant to prevent being crippled before your next fight. Muta had been at The Pit the longest at two years, he knew that any weakness seen here was exploited quickly. Muta saw many other occupants discreetly watching Naruto practising and seeing him as an easy victory. Muta knew that they all had to get Naruto as strong as possible but he couldn't see how he would be able to help him.

Muta knew his strength lay with his Shōkaichū and their use but he had been severely burned with his capture and lost basically his entire hive. Rudimentary taijutsu and weak ninjutsu meant that he really couldn't help train Naruto.  _'I guess I shall just have to survive and take out as many as I can for him before I die.'_ Ever logical like most of his clan, Muta knew his purpose.

Hitomi was itching to help Naruto. True she wasn't the strongest of her clan but she had skills that could possibly mean the difference between Naruto's life and death. Even though after Naruto she was the youngest Leaf member she was smart enough to know that she shouldn't try to teach him too much too soon otherwise he would get confused and forget things.  _'Little Hinata would be about Naruto's age. I hope my niece never gains that jaded look in her eyes. I can't really teach him Gentle Fist since he doesn't have the Byakugan but I could teach him Heavenly Rotation and give him a little protection.'_

The next three days went by fairly quickly for Naruto. He spent them training and only became concerned for his new friends once, when Koba went off to fight but Koba had come back and Naruto got back to training. He was a little standoffish with the men but Mikoto and Hitomi had found a way to worm passed his defenses and Naruto had no idea how. He had discovered that he quite liked hugs and the women were happy to give them.

A guard unlocked the cell door, announcing that it was Naruto's time to fight. Both Mikoto and Hitomi gave him crushing hugs and the men gave quick words of encouragement and advice. Before Naruto could think about how he hadn't said anything back, he was seeing the all too familiar sight of The Pit. One change caught his eye however; someone had put in a small lake in the centre giving water users a new advantage.

The next moment the call to fight came through and his newest opponent charged across towards Naruto. Taking a second to size him up, Naruto saw that it was an average man in every way with his only remarkable feature being a very large nose. Shifting into his fighting stance, Naruto launched a burst of fire with his right hand.

The man dodged to the left and went through several signs before crying "Lightning Release: Swift Death,"

A thin bolt of lightning burst from his hands and flew through the air faster than any attack Naruto had experienced. He reacted instinctively and pushed out as much chakra from his left hand as he could at short notice. A shapeless mass of wind blasted out and met the bolt before Naruto witnessed something strange. The electricity was travelling throughout the wind before dispersing into nothing. Shock was visble on both fighters face's when the attack failed.

" **Naruto, each of the five natures has a nature it is strong and weak against. Lighting is weak against wind but strong against earth. If he keeps using lightning, wind would be your best bet but don't forget you can still use my fire."**

Getting over his shock, his opponent went through more signs. "Lightning Release: Thunder's Fury!"

Having seen the man start more signs, Naruto gathered more wind chakra and shaped it into a large circle as a shield. Several large bursts of electricity hit his wind but didn't manage to piece his defence. In retaliation, Naruto then formed a thin but wide blade of fire and shot it through his wind shield. The blade burned brighter and the man had to flatten himself on his stomach to avoid the attack.

Seeing that this brat wouldn't be the easy win he thought it would be, he ran next to the lake and started several new signs. "Water Release: Falling Rain," A large amount of water was raised up above them and started down towards its victim. Naruto, having watched the water rise up failed to notice his adversary perform another jutsu, "Lightning Release: Swift Death," with the bolt hitting the falling water.

A great sense of alarm from Kurama alerted Naruto to the danger. Not having time for words, Naruto shaped a swirling cone of wind as Kurama provided the fire. Normally he would let Naruto do it but time was of the essence and only Kurama could produce the heat he needed to evaporate the electrified water. It was by far the hottest attack Naruto had ever performed with his cone of flames vaporising the water just in time. Wincing slightly at the singed skin on his arms, Naruto turned back to his foe. Remembering how he had dodged his last attack, Naruto simply unleashed a large uncontained burst of wind while shooting multiple small balls of fire into the flowing air. Although the man managed to dodge a large amount of his fireballs, he started to look weary.

Changing tactics, Naruto held out his right hand palm up and ignited a small flame. Bringing his left hand behind his right, he started firing small drills of wind out. This worked out better since the wind enhanced fire drills travelled faster than the fireballs and Naruto scored a hit on the man's left thigh. He fell heavily and gathered the last of his chakra in a desperate attack. "Water Release: Water Shark Bomb"

Several large shark shaped blobs of water rocketed towards Naruto and he was forced to roll left then scramble madly to his feet before jumping out of the way of the attack. Naruto shot a small blade of Wind with as much force that he could muster straight at his foe. It sliced right through his neck and blood poured out of the small wound that Naruto had created. The man clutched at his neck desperately trying to live for a few moments longer when he was engulfed in a mass of wind enhanced flames.

The familiar numbness began crawling its way up his legs and Naruto desperately wanted to see Mikoto again. She had that mysterious power to keep it at bay. As he walked back into the cell, all six Konoha shinobi gathered around in a group hug. At the centre of people, the numbness receded and unfamiliar warmth flickered through him instead.  _'Is this what it feels like to belong? Am I truly not alone anymore?'_

xXx

Mikoto Uchiha was worried. She was doing her best not to show it to anyone but her taut muscles and twitching fingers gave her away.  _'Naruto should be back by now. His fights don't normally last this long, has something bad happened? No one has returned so he hasn't die- he hasn't lost.'_

Mikoto would most likely have continued this train of thought but the opening of the cell door drew all of her attention. The door had swung into the cell and with their group's position; she was unable to see through the solid steel into the corridor. The span of time it took for  _someone_ to walk in seemed to last for years until finally Naruto walked back into the cell. Mikoto let out the breath she had been holding in relief and walked over to the young boy before fussing over him.

She was smart enough to realise that she had come to see Naruto as far more than just a boy she wanted to protect. This also meant that she knew this complicated matters since before she had been prepared to give her life for Naruto but now she wanted to escape. She wanted to take him back to the village and raise him along side Sasuke as her adopted son. This little bundle of life had kicked Mikoto out of her depression and given her a reason to live in exactly the wrong place and time.

Hitomi watched Mikoto tend to Naruto when out of nowhere, a strange sense of jealously came upon her.  _'This is ridiculous. Why am I jealous?'_ but she couldn't lie to herself. Mikoto had become much closer to Naruto than anyone else in their group when he appeared those months ago. As the only women in their group, and two of the five women in the cell, Mikoto had been the closest thing she had to a sister here. They were forced to stick together out of necessity and Kaito and the others helped protect them during the night.

' _I suppose it's a mix of losing the attention of my sister and not getting enough notice from Naruto.'_ That thought brought a small smirk to Hitomi's face. It was just typical of her to get bent out of shape by not getting enough attention, from anyone.  _'He really has changed all of us though, before we knew it he had wormed his way into our hearts and we all came to see him as a little brother. At least Sora got that forgiveness he was looking for before he left us, it's only a matter of time for the rest of us.'_

Another problem Hitomi felt was that she hadn't helped prepare Naruto enough. She had only taught him the Heavenly Rotation as a defence; she could teach him anything else. Kaito was the best taijutsu fighter and took over that part of his training, with Koba and Mikoto helping with ninjutsu and genjutsu respectively. As a Hyuuga, she relied on the Gentle Fist which, although a devastating fighting style, really couldn't be used by non Byakugan users, with almost no other jutsu's being used in combat.

Moving over to Mikoto and Naruto, Hitomi ruffled her hand through Naruto's hair playfully while talking quietly to Mikoto.  _'Even if others are better suited to training him, I will be his friend. He needs people to care.'_  The sensation of Hitomi's hand ruffling his hair was strange but not unpleasant. Taking an unconscious step closer to Hitomi, Naruto looked up at her and gave her a small smile. In return, Naruto received her customary lopsided grin.

Kaito was quite proud of his young charge. Naruto proved to be an extremely quick study and had perfected the Academy style before learning more specialised moves of his own as well as some Inuzuka techniques from Koba.  _'He has to get back; Gai would lose his mind at this boy's aptitude for taijutsu,'_

xXx

The week passed as it normally did, with Naruto learning a small handle of new jutsus for him to master. However, all too soon, the time for Naruto's scheduled fight happened and Mikoto felt the familiar fear grasp her heart. She was distracted from her well wishing when she saw another man approaching the door. It was Enji Ichimaru, an A ranked Jonin from Kiri who had a 'Kill on Sight' status in the Bingo Book. The trickle of fear became a rushing torrent and Mikoto grabbed Naruto with urgency.

"Naruto listen to me, that guy is called Enji and he is very dangerous. He is renowned for his powerful water techniques; he is titled 'Enji the Waterfall'. I have no idea how they managed to capture him"

Naruto frowned when he received this news; it meant that this fight would be the hardest one to date.  _'Water user to, this is going to be really hard Kurama, any ideas?'_

" **Well he is going to be better than you in every way. The only chance you have is that you take him off guard and be unpredictable. You will also have to mix our chakra natures to do damage, just fire won't be enough."**

Mikoto felt her boy eased out of her arms by Kaito and before she could say anything to Naruto, the door closed and he was gone.

xXx

Naruto was in trouble since it didn't matter what he did, Enji was able to dodge or counter him. Ever since the fight had started Naruto had been on the defensive and what made it worse was that Enji didn't really look like he was trying. Going through his seals Naruto moulded more chakra and said "Fire Release: Great Fireball," before adding some wind chakra from his left arm. The raging fireball raced towards his opponent who merely dodged it with a Body Flicker behind Naruto.

"Sorry kid, it's not personal," Enji stated in a cold voice.

Whirling around Naruto began trying to back away before a small, high pressured blade of water sliced down his right eye. Before he could react, before pain even registered, his left eye was sliced as well. Screaming in pain, Naruto clutched at his face before getting kicked in the stomach and flying away from Enji.

For his part, Enji didn't want to torture the poor boy but he had been viciously repremanded for being too  _boring_ in his fights and ending them as quickly as possible. The people paid for a show and he had to give them one. 

Kurama was in agony but suddenly found himself in control of Naruto's body as Naruto had fled to his mindscape to get away from his own pain. Steeling himself for this ordeal, Kurama fused Naruto's wind and his own fire chakra to make a new, Scorch mode, hoping to offset the loss of Naruto's vision with more power but also tougher defense against water.

The sound of a footstep to his right alerted Kurama and he launched a massive burst of fire from Naruto's right arm although deep down in his heart of hearts, Kurama knew that their chances of victory were almost nonexistent. Sure enough, even with his heightened senses, Kurama was unable to keep track of his opponent and was taken by complete surprise when another burst of high pressured water sliced into his stomach. A large amount of blood splattered on the ground and Kurama knew that the water blade had sliced through some of Naruto's organs.

Kurama's concentration slipped and the mode fell away. Deciding to ignore nature transformation, Kurama activated his normal chakra in a shroud of red around Naruto's body. Two red ears formed above his head and three tails whipped through the air. Kurama wanted to offset the loss of defense with fire by greatly enhancing Naruto's speed and strength.  _ **'He is able to bypass our combined Scorch mode, hopefully if I move fast enough he will find it much harder to hit us.'**_

Enji was confused, although you would never be able to tell that by looking at his calm face.  _'What is this feeling? This red chakra is completely different in taste to anyone else I know, well apart from that annoying fuck from Cloud. Ah what was his name? Killer Ant? Bug Killer? Something like tha- wait! Does this mean the brat is a Demon Container?!'_

Enji continued to dodge all over the pit, although this was far more difficult than before.  _'If he is a Demon Container, what happens if I kill him? Will his Demon escape and kill every living thing in a mile's radius? Even I can't fight a Tailed Beast but I can't leave here unless he dies. I suppose I could let him kill me however there are at least three other fighters left that are stronger than me. It would be of no use to let him win if one of the others kills him anyway and unleashes the Beast.'_

Enji was in a quandary. Even though he enjoyed killing he was not heartless and had never relished killing children. Enji knew the kid was talented otherwise he would've never been able to survive this long.  _'I suppose I could simply trust in the Leaf's silly 'Will of Fire' and hope he gets strong enough to ensure his Beast is trapped for a long time. There's no real point in killing him only for me to die by the hands of his Beast afterwards,'_

Finding his resolve, Enji focused his attention on Naruto. Several red chakra arms had formed and were blindly swinging around in an attempt to find him. Using another Body Flicker, Enji jumped behind Naruto saying "Water Release: Water Arms," and several arms formed out of the central lake restraining Naruto and his chakra appendages. Whispering as fast as he could into Naruto's ear, Enji told Naruto to kill him.

Kurama was confused. Enji had Naruto right where he wanted him and was throwing the fight? It didn't make any sense but Kurama was never one to waste an opportunity. He poured more chakra into Naruto, forming another arm and sending right through Enji's chest.

Naruto's body slumped to the ground and Kurama retreated back to his seal, pumping chakra into the injury in his stomach trying to stem the flow of blood. Time became irrelevant and keeping Naruto alive became Kurama's sole focus. He was concentrating so hard that surprisingly the pain took a backseat. The utter damage to Naruto's body took priority and Kurama only spared enough chakra to stop the bleeding from the ruined spaces that his eyes used to occupy. Knitting organs together took precedence.

xXx

"Oh shit, Naruto! Koba get over here he needs medical attention!" Naruto's mind was a haze of pain but he managed to recognise Mikoto's voice.

Due to the throbbing pain that was his existence Naruto missed a large amount of the following conversation but he did manage to catch Hitomi's first words.

"Transplant my eye, give him the Byakugan. It will make him stronger and it's the least I can do here,"

He wanted to say no, to protect his friend from blinding herself but the effort of talking was too much and darkness claimed him.

xXx

Naruto woke slowly, a dull ache radiating throughout his body. He could feel a body laying next him and he tried to sit up but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax Naruto; you suffered a lot of damage. Give your body time to heal. We covered your eye to give it time to adjust to your body. Hitomi was kind enough to donate her own eye to you. It will take at least a day or two for you to heal, with Kurama's assistance of course."

"But I don't want to see if that means Hitomi cant!" Naruto whispered urgently.

"Oh sorry, she only donated her right eye, she's not blind. She just wanted to help you, like we all do. I don't think she would have listened to you in this case. Now just go back to sleep, you used a lot of energy, just focus on healing."

Naruto did just that, relaxing and inhaling deep breaths. He had time for one final thought though,  _'Hey Kurama, don't heal the scars on my eyes. I need to be reminded of Hitomi's sacrifice every day. A sign of the price she paid and my goal to be the strongest so I can stop my friends from dying.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?
> 
> Please review. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

It had been five days since Naruto's fight with Enji and he was still getting used to only being able to see out of one eye, his right eye to be precise. That didn't stop Hitomi from constantly training him with the use of the Byakugan though; she knew that every moment that Naruto could adjust to its use was valuable.

The difficulties of adjusting to one eye paled in comparison to learning how to use the Byakugan however. The first time Naruto activated his new eye powers, he had been unable to comprehend the sheer amount of information being fed to his brain by the three hundred and sixty degree view. Not only could he see his entire surroundings but the eye could see through solid objects. It had taken two days before he had been able to use it with any kind of proficiency, although Hitomi was quick to state that he had a long way to go before mastering it.

Naruto ran his fingers over his new facial scars. A vertical scar ran down over each of his eyes, just like a scarecrow. He knew that they were ugly but Naruto would not consider getting them healed, even if Mikoto got a sad look in her eyes every time she saw his face. The cost was too high.

He got to his feet and started going over the basic forms of Gentle Fist that Hitomi had showed him. Kaito was happy that Naruto had the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, it was the premier taijutsu style of the Leaf but he did warn Naruto over some of the styles weaknesses. Although being able to strike at a target's chakra system was undoubtedly advantageous, the style was too grounded. A user did not really move around with their feet and made circular movements with their arms. Kaito had suggested that Naruto incorporate the footwork from the Academy style as a way to allow Naruto greater mobility to dodge the strong attacks that Gentle Fist couldn't guard against.

' _Considering that Gentle Fist focuses on chakra infused palm strikes, it gives opponents a good idea how to defend themselves. By fusing it with the Strong Fist style that Kaito has started to teach me opponents, in theory, wouldn't know if an attack was Gentle Fist or not even if it was a kick.'_ Naruto thought.

Following that line of thought, Naruto began moving around more freely with his footwork and practised kicking while expelling chakra from his toes and heels. The sound of the door opening got everyone's attention. Apprehension gripped him as Naruto realised that he hadn't had enough time to truly get used to the Byakugan and that he wasn't ready for another fight so soon. This worry turned out to be for naught since Muta was called up to fight instead, along with a man who stood with the group belonging to the Hidden Cloud. Naruto suddenly felt bad, he had felt glad that it wasn't him but Muta was at risk.  _'What am I becoming?'_

Realising that he would be too wound up with concern for his friend to get any physical training done, Naruto sat next to Hitomi to wait, activating his new vision in an attempt to get something productive done with his time. As he quickly adjusted to the new field of vision, he turned it off. He turned it back on quickly, hoping that he could cut done on the adjustment time until turning it on and seeing with the Byakugan was normal, like Hitomi could do. He practised like this for while until his chakra reserves started running low.  _'Oh that's right, Hitomi said that because I don't have the Hyuga genes, using the Byakugan would cost more chakra than a normal Hyuga would. Even with my chakra pool, using it constantly is the fastest way for me to drain myself.'_

Naruto had tried using Kurama to power the eye but since it wasn't an original part Naruto's body, Kurama's chakra acted as a poison and began damaging it. Instead, he gave Kurama instructions to flood his eye with his chakra if he ever got defeated to ensure that it wouldn't fall into enemy hands. Hitomi had stressed that it was one of the most valuable Bloodlines found in their village.

Naruto lost track of time with his focus, even somehow managing to take his mind off of the current fight taking place. If using the Byakugan was so costly, Naruto decided to try and use it sparingly. Turning it off and on during fights to preserve chakra but to gain the information his new eye could give him.

He was shaken from his thoughts when the door opened again and the man from Kumo stepped into the cell. Naruto's face fell,  _'So Muta's dead? How long before all my friends die and I am alone again? I don't know if I can bear that, finally having someone who cares, only to have them die and be lonely again.'_

Kurama could hear Naruto's thoughts but chose to not say anything. It was true, Kurama had no idea how Naruto might cope if he lost them all now, especially Mikoto.  **'Unless I'm mistaken, Naruto would rather die than go back to the way things were. I know now that I truly consider him my friend but I don't know if I could bring myself to save him if he tried. He's lost too much. It would hurt but it would be for Naruto's own good.'**

Naruto felt arms encircle him and he looked up to see Mikoto giving him a gentle smile. "Muta's gone to a better place Naruto. We all know it might be the last time we see each other but he's at peace now."

He couldn't bring himself to say anything, just leaned against Mikoto's body, trying to ignore the feeling that the cold numbness would come back and haunt him forever.

xXx

Mikoto was panting hard, the fight had gone far longer than normal and she was beginning to tire. She stood back to back with Hitomi, struggling to regain her breath. Casting her gaze over the pit, Mikoto could see that five other fighters remained from the original ten. She mentally cursed Akari who had, before the fight, explained that the audience had been growing a little bored recently and wanted more of a show. This meant that each group had two members chosen to compete as a team.

' _My chakra pool is probably just under half full. I can't risk turning my Sharingan off but it's using my chakra. I've got to stop using so many fire jutsus.'_

Mikoto knew that Hitomi was in a better position than her, since she limited her chakra usage to the Gentle Fist and her Byakugan; her reserves were a lot higher. Suddenly the last fighter from Kiri began a flurry of hand signs, crying out, "Water Release: Water Wave,"

A large wave formed out of the water from the circular lake and was sent towards the right side of the pit. Mikoto and Hitomi were only just in its path and jumped away. Mikoto saw that the wave would hit the pair from Stone and let out her own attack, "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Death,"

The lightning attack fused with the water wave and it impacted against the ground and surrounding wall. After the water cleared, Mikoto saw that only one of the intended targets had been killed. If she had to guess, she would say that the second one had burrowed underground.

The fighters from Sand made their presence known by launching a combined Wind jutsu that sliced apart the last Kiri fighter, who had apparently used more chakra than necessary when he fired his wave. ' _In the span of probably five or six seconds the numbers have fallen to three, not counting Hitomi or myself. Those two Sand ninja and the Stone guy that buried himself are all that's left.'_

"Hitomi, I can't see the last Iwa guy to showing his face at the moment. Don't ignore him but I imagine he is happy for us to weaken as we fight those Sand bastards. Got any ideas?"

Hitomi frowned, "Well if you're right, that's going to be a problem. Those Sand guys are using a lot of Wind jutsus putting me at a disadvantage since I use hand to hand combat. You might have more luck fighting them with fire jutsus but I guess you are running low on chakra?"

Mikoto grit her teeth in frustration. "Yeah, just under half so I can't waste it on massive attacks. How fast is your Body Flicker?"

"Pretty fast, my brother always said my Gentle Fist was a little sloppy so I compensated by trying to out-speed him in our spars."

"Alright, here's the plan. We'll rush the Sand guys and when they fire Wind at us, I'll counter with a good Fire technique. As they should be preoccupied with dealing with the threat in front of them, you will Body Flicker behind them and take them out. I'll cover your back in case the Iwa guy tries to take advantage of the chaos.

If they don't launch Wind but use Earth I'll use a Lightning attack but we will have to back off if they use Water since I don't know any Earth jutsus myself. Okay?"

Hitomi nodded. It was as sound a plan as she could think of and it had a good chance of working. She had worked very hard on her Body Flicker, eventually getting it to a speed that could even give Hiashi a hard time.

"Oh by the way Mikoto, my Byakugan can see the Iwa guy. He's currently in between us and the Sand guys, four meters underground, just thought you ought to know."

The pair of women started running at the Sand ninja, pumping their legs with chakra to make them faster. The leftmost Sand ninja knew that the Leaf had thought of something but didn't know their plan of attack. He had seen the Uchiha use a variety of Fire jutsus already so decided a varied attack would be his best option. Telling his teammate just on his right to stick with Wind, he himself launched an Earth jutsu that took the form of a large cube of rock that got sent flying towards the Leaf fighters. He then sneakily prepared another Wind jutsu behind his Earth one, hidden from their sight. This would not only speed up his Earth attack but be insurance in case their counter attack got through his.

Mikoto saw a burst of Wind erupt and fly towards her before a large cube of rock was sent as well. "Dual attacks of different elements? We didn't think of that but I have to trust in Hitomi, she said she was fast and I just have to keep their attention on me."

Deciding to be a little reckless Mikoto went through the necessary signs, "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower," and several fireballs were sent haphazardly towards the incoming Wind. Going as fast as she could, Mikoto than let off another jutsu, "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Death,"

The burst of electricity cut through the Earth cube easily, turning it into dust. This dust unfortunately hid the follow-up Wind attack from Mikoto's sight and she suddenly found herself flying backwards feeling small blades of Wind cut up around her body. Though she was in great pain, the worst cut she had received was a deep gash on her stomach, not life threatening but very painful.

Mikoto forced herself back to her feet, Hitomi needed her. She also thanked her lucky stars that she had gotten away with the damage she got.  _'It appears that the Sand ninja was in such a rush to get his second attack away in time, to prevent me from seeing it, that he didn't take enough time to aim properly. The worst of the attack went over my head; I guess he instinctively aimed where the average man's head is. Good thing I'm so short.'_

xXx

Hitomi saw Mikoto's attacks go through, the fireballs becoming larger and faster which gained both Sand ninja's attention. Thanks to her Byakugan, she also saw Mikoto get blown away by a hidden Wind attack but couldn't spare another thought on her friend as she performed her Body Flicker and appeared behind the Sand ninjas, just as they started trying to deal with the fireballs.

Operating at the speed of thought, Hitomi considered her possible actions.  _'Well if I can hit the chakra points located in their heart its fatal but they are just far enough apart that going straight for the kill isn't possible, at least for both of them. This is my best chance to take them by surprise, best go with something that can hit both of them, luckily for me they are in range.'_

"Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!" Moving at a blur, Hitomi managed to alternate her strikes, hitting both men thirty two times each. It wasn't enough to completely cut off their chakra pathways but it was enough that they were in a lot of pain and found themselves moving at a sluggish pace. With both hands, she stepped forward and struck with her Gentle Fist, hitting first the man on her left than the one on her right, striking the chakra point located in their hearts, killing them instantly.

At that moment where Hitomi was savouring a brief sense of victory, the ground below her erupted and a spike of chakra enhanced rock was flying up straight at her face. Hitomi didn't have time to react; she could only feel a sense of horror before she felt something push her out of the way. Mikoto had used her own Body Flicker and managed to save Hitomi but felt the rock plunge deep into her right hip.

Growling in irritation, the last remaining fighter also appeared out of the ground. Going through his hand signs he cried out, "Earth Release: Stone Spears!" and four large spears rose up from the ground before flying towards both of them.

Hitomi jumped in front of Mikoto's prone body, slumped oddly due to the rock spike in her hip. Hitomi activated her Heavenly Rotation to protect them both.  _'How do I get this guy? If I rush him, he will just go for Mikoto. I also have to consider my Rotation, it costs more chakra than his Earth jutsus and he will outlast me. I have to take him by surprise but how?'_

Hitomi fought to keep her face blank as a new idea formed. She had no clue if this would work but it was her best bet. She had to attack him when he didn't think he was going to be attacked which meant just after his attack finished or he thought he had won. However if she used Rotation, she wouldn't have enough time to stop and attack. Hitomi was planning on using a Body Flicker while still using her Rotation to use her chakra as her attack. The only problem was that she didn't know if it was possible and she would only get one shot before he worked it out and she would be forced to think of something else.

The ninja from Iwa prepared another attack, "Earth Release: Gravity Smash." Three very large boulders rose up, high into the air above Hitomi. They then fell at great speed. Realising that she couldn't protect Mikoto from an attack from above, she unceremoniously kicked her away before using her Heavenly Rotation, hoping that the man's focus was on her and that he believed that he could finish Mikoto off when he got rid of the largest threat.

The weight of the boulders was starting to slow down the speed of her rotations, forcing Hitomi to pump more chakra out. With her eyes, Hitomi could see that the boulders had settled but that the boulders were too heavy for her Rotation to fling away, meaning she had to keep spinning to prevent them from crushing her. A large dust cloud had formed obscuring everyone's vision and seeing her chance, she used her Body Flicker while spinning.

The Iwa man was taken completely by surprise when he was struck by a wall of spinning chakra and sent flying back. Before he could gather his wits, Hitomi used another Flicker and struck the man in the chest. Just for good measure she hit him again, just in case he was faking.

xXx

Hitomi hurried over to Mikoto, rolling her over onto her back so that she could see her wound. "Mikoto, can you hear me? It's over now, we're the last ones left. We win."

Mikoto scrunched her face up in a mix of pain and relief. "That's good; I need to see Koba for healing. This hurts like a bitch."

A voice from above them caught their attention. The annoying, rough tones of Akari's voice came from some speakers. "Oh hey guys. Remember when I said you guys could win as a team? Yeah I lied; only one person gets to win here. Have fun."

Horror gripped Mikoto's heart. "Damn it. I'm sorry Hitomi but you have to win. Naruto needs you and I'm already injured." Tears formed in her eyes, "Tell him I'm sorry but its okay. I get to see Muta and Sora again and that I'm proud of him."

Hitomi leaned down to whisper in Mikoto's ear. "I can't do that. Naruto needs you far more than me. He needs his mother. Tell him that he really is the best little brother anyone could have. You have to get the others and escape. We both know it's a matter of time before we all die and he's alone again. A one eyed girl who can only use taijutsu will only slow you down. Good bye."

With a sudden brainwave, Hitomi realised that all this whispering might set off Akari's suspicions and she wanted to try and allay them. Mentally smirking at Mikoto's reaction, Hitomi hoped she would roll with it. Hitomi bent down and gave a loving kiss to Mikoto who stiffened in shock when she felt Hitomi's tongue.

"Don't you dare forget my final confession lover," Hitomi spoke. She said it in a lowered tone but one that was easily overheard. With that she raised her left hand to her remaining eye and her right hand over her heart. She activated both palms with chakra at the same time, destroying her eye and dying in the same breath.

Mikoto was still trying to figure out why Hitomi had kissed her when her body slumped over next to her. Grief wrenched at her heart and she sobbed over the death of her surrogate sister. A sudden burning in her eyes made her raise her hands to her face in an attempt to ward off the pain. Using the pool of blood that had formed from her wounds, Mikoto could barely make out her reflection. Her Sharingan had changed; it now resembled a three spiked pinwheel, with three dots, one in between each spoke.

' _Is this my Mangekyo Sharingan? If what I recall about it and its powers are true than escape might actually be possible now. I can't let Hitomi's sacrifice be in vain!'_

xXx

Mikoto sat in her cell letting Koba administer his medical jutsu to her injuries. Naruto had curled up into a ball and leaned into her side. He hadn't said a word since Mikoto had come back into the cell alone. Once Koba deemed that he had done all he could and that only time would heal the rest, Mikoto gathered Koba and Kaito together in a close huddle.

In a passionate whisper Mikoto began, "We need to escape. Hitomi, Sora and Muta all died with the intention to buy Naruto more time to live but Hitomi realised that it was only a matter of time until we all perish and Naruto is left alone. I know that the risk is high but we can't afford to wait. Our numbers keep dropping, if even one more of us die, it won't matter anymore, and we won't have enough strength to manage. I was able to unlock a new level of power for my Sharingan and the time has to be soon. Almost immediately as I heal my wounds, we have to escape."

A brief silence met her whispered speech. Both men met each other's eyes and nodded. The fact was that both men knew she was correct but escape seemed too difficult. Muta had told them that he had witnessed three attempts during his time at The Pit and all had failed. Two attempts hadn't been strong enough to break down the solid steel door and the third had been stopped by the shinobi guards after getting out of the cell.

Naruto heard the whole conversation and agreed. Even if they should fail, he wanted to try. Hitomi had given him her eye in the hope that he would live and he would do  **everything**  he could to honour her memory.

"Just let me heal and figure some things out about my new eyes and we will be ready." Mikoto firmly stated.

xXx

Mikoto tried to recall everything Fugaku had told her about the fabled power of the Uchiha.  _'It's unlocked by killing your best friend. Each eye has a unique ability to one person but one thing all Mangekyo have in common is that users that have unlocked Mangekyo in both eyes can use Susano'o. It's an ability that makes an avatar made out of your chakra that fights on your behalf. It seems to get more powerful you use it, from what former Uchiha have told from generation to generation. Madara himself is quoted as saying that the Susano'o is the ultimate offense and defence.'_

Although Mikoto knew that using her unique powers would probably be easier but she didn't know what they were. Activating her Mangekyo and facing the wall, Mikoto thought about how it felt when she awoke her eyes for the first time. Channelling chakra into her left eye, not much happened. A slight haze appeared before fading away quickly. Mikoto wasn't sure if the haze happened on the wall she looked at or could only be seen by her eye.  _'I guess my left eye either does something subtle like genjutsu or something that is very hard to detect. I'm not going to risk using it on my friends but if I have to fight before we try and leave I can find out then.'_

Channelling chakra into her right eye, a slight sense of control filled her mind. Acting on instinct, Mikoto generated a small flame with her chakra. Looking at the fire with her eye, she found that she was able to manipulate it in various ways that she hadn't thought possible.  _'It looks like my right eye gives me the ability to control fire quite easily. Does this only work on fire made from my chakra or any fire in general? I will need to find out later.'_

Knowing that she needed to figure out how to activate her Susano'o but also knowing that trying would alert other people about her new abilities, Mikoto decided that she should only try and activate it once.  _'It won't give me a lot of experience using it but I need to know_ _ **how**_ _to use it before we actually try and escape. Hopefully only doing it once will not give anyone an idea how strong it will actually be,'_

This time focusing chakra into both her eyes, Mikoto felt pain throughout her whole body. Gritting her teeth and putting more chakra into the technique, a large rib cage formed around her. Pouring more chakra into her eyes, arms formed as the pain in her body intensified. Willing the skeletal arms to move, the Susano'o's arms flexed. The pain grew to be too much for Mikoto to handle and she let the jutsu drop.

Turning around, she saw all the cell's occupants staring at her demonstration. Giving a small shrug, she turned away from them all.  _'I know how to use it. It appears that using Susano'o causes intense pain. The more complex I made it, the worse it got. At least I know that now, better to work out the down sides before the actual escape._

_I also have to remember not to over use my Mangekyo; Fugaku said that using it too often may result in blindness.'_

xXx

During the two days waiting for Mikoto's injuries to heal, Naruto spent in near silence. Although he had befriended Sora and Muta, Hitomi meant more to him than he had believed possible. She had always been there to talk to, especially when he, somehow, managed to annoy Mikoto.  _'Like when I over used my chakra in training and probably would've died from exhaustion if I had to fight right after that.'_

The group all missed her, she had been a bright spark of energy, not letting their circumstances bring her down, at least not as down as everyone else. Her lopsided smile was hard to miss in the gloom even when she donated Naruto one of her eyes.  _'I know that she wasn't really my sister but she was in all the ways that mattered. So why can't I cry for her? I_ _ **know**_ _I loved her as family. Normal people cry in this situation right? Am I so far gone that I can't cry for my dead sister?'_

He was too scared of voicing these thoughts, worried that he would be seen as a demon once again. A small, sensible part of his mind knew that these fears were baseless but he still couldn't bear the thought of the others, especially Mikoto, turning on him.

"Naruto," Mikoto's voice cut Naruto off from his train of thought.

"When we take action, I  **need** you to stay near me. I can protect us with my Susano'o. Koba and Kaito will fight other ninja but no matter what happens,  **stay with me** , okay?" Mikoto's voice was calm but the look in her eyes told Naruto just how urgent this was.

"Okay, I promise," replied Naruto in his customary whisper.

xXx

When all three agreed that it was roughly around three in the morning, Mikoto struck. Activating her Susano'o, she was surprised to find that although the pain was slightly higher than last time her Susano'o had become a little more complete. This time she had managed to manifest the top half of a skeleton, complete with a head. Willing it to move, Mikoto swung with all her might and the giant fist smashed the cell door off its hinges. An almighty screech of tearing metal sounded as the solid steel door was ripped from its hinges and imbedded itself several inches into the corridor's stone wall.

The sound of the punch and resulting impact was enough to wake the other prisoners. Kaito stepped forward and spoke in his most impressive voice,

"This is  **our best** chance at  **escape!** If we all join forces, we increase our chances of survival!"

Although some inmates looked apprehensive, the fact that an escape attempt was already under way meant that they would all be punished regardless. This realisation galvanised the remaining members of Kumo to step forward. At this, the group mentality shifted from passive to action and as one, all the prisoners surged through the now open doorway.

"Which way?" cried one voice.

" **Head to the arena, the exit should probably be easier to find since all the audience sits up in the stands."** Kurama suggested to Naruto. He had been watching through Naruto's eye quite carefully and was just as determined to escape as the others. Naruto quickly repeated Kurama's words and the prisoners all agreed.

As a group they charged down the corridor before finding themselves in The Pit. Jumping over the dividing barrier, the prisoners rushed up the stairs searching for the exit.

"Over here!" one voice called urgently.

The group of Leaf ninja followed the summons and found a doorway with a very convenient 'Exit' sign above it. Kaito knew that the sound of the door smashing as well as the noise that everyone had made thus far meant that it was not going to take long for the alarm to be raised. Sure enough, when the next door with an Exit sign above it appeared, the two guards assigned to watch it were reinforced by four more guards.

Jumping into action, Koba and three other prisoners attacked the guards. It looked as if the battle might take too long and three more prisoners leapt into help. With force of numbers, the prisoners managed to cut down the guards fairly quickly. As the first prisoner stepped through the now unguarded door, his leg broke a trip wire. Unbeknownst to the prisoners, this trip wire was connected to the finger of the Warden, who wasted no time in putting the entire Pit on alert. The Warden knew that no guard was stupid enough to risk stepping outside.

xXx

Not realising the level of danger they were in, the prisoners found themselves breathing in fresh, clean air for the first time in years. Its sheer sweetness was enough to temporarily halt the mad rush for freedom. A loud chakra infused voice echoed from the Pit behind them.

"Attention! Unauthorised to outside perimeter! High Alert, Attention!"

In the span of a few seconds, ten Body Flicker techniques occurred and the prisoners were left facing the guardsmen that happened to be on duty. With only Mikoto staying back with Naruto, the rest of the inmates attacked as a group, overwhelming the guards. With a very quick nod of thanks to the Leaf ninja, all the other groups split off into the night.

"Let's go guys, no time to waste!" Koba said with urgency. He knew that the very best of their captor's ninja still had to appear. The level of the guards wasn't high enough but the group that had managed to subdue him were all elite jonin and none of them had showed up yet.

" **Naruto, what about Akari? We swore that we would kill everyone responsible for hurting us."** Kurama asked with some bite. He would never forget the amount of suffering both of them had to endure and he wanted nothing more than to tear Akari limb from limb.

Naruto frowned in thought before giving his response, _'I know Kurama but I also promised to help you and escaping is definitely going to help you. Akari is the only person I have ever truly wanted to kill but this is more important. Hitomi, Muta and Sora all died to try and save me. If we turn back now, even if we managed to kill Akari, we would get captured again and make their sacrifice meaningless. I_ _ **refuse**_ _to let them die in vain just to spill some blood. I swear though, when we are strong enough, we will return and Akari will wish she had never been born.'_

Without any idea as to their location, the Konoha ninjas sped off to their left. When they had managed to cover about a kilometre's distance, Koba suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Keep going you guys; I'll buy you as much time as I can." Koba had managed to sniff out his enemies when the wind had changed. In the faint moonlight, Koba's red facial tattoos flashed as he gave them all one last smile, a smile that held the last of his hope. Without letting his friends say so much as a farewell, he jumped back in the direction they had come from.

"C'mon Mikoto, we can't let his death be in vain," Kaito said. Although he managed to sound composed, she was able to detect a hint of regret in his voice.

The group of three sped off once again; Naruto activated his Byakugan, hoping to see just how many ninja Koba would be facing. The faint hope that Koba would be able to catch up with them after dealing with their pursuers was dashed as he counted seven chakra signatures that all glowed just as brightly as Koba descended upon him.

xXx

Koba had been able to gain his friends about five hours of uninterrupted running. The sky had lightened with the Sun when, at Kaito's suggestion, Naruto activated his Byakugan once more. When he did, he saw five chakra signatures chasing them. Naruto recognised them as being the same ones that Koba had stayed back to fight. It appeared that Koba, even against overwhelming odds, had managed to slay two enemies in his final moments. Despite having chakra to spare, Mikoto was carrying Naruto; knowing that he wouldn't be able to keep up with jonin travelling at great haste.

"There are five enemies behind us. Koba managed to deal with two and buy us a lot of time. They look to be on the edge of my vision which is around two hundred meters but they are gaining ground rapidly." Naruto relayed to Kaito.

Kaito looked around.  _'Judging by the position of the Sun and the hilly terrain which is covered in trees, I would hazard a guess that we are either in the Land of Rice or Hot Water. If I'm right about our location, than Konoha should be in a south by south west direction.'_ Kaito knew that they were too far away to out run their enemies. Making up his mind, he turned to Mikoto and said,

"You get him home Mikoto. We are all  _counting_ on you. Sora, Muta, Hitomi and Koba, we all passed our Will of Fire to Naruto. You get him there, you hear me?" Putting on a brave face, Kaito turned to Naruto.

"Hey kid, I'm going to buy as much time as I can. I know you promised us to get strong enough to protect your precious people. I want you to find more precious people and protect them okay? Do me a favour though, when you see my friend, Might Guy, tell him that your flames of Youth burn bright and that he should help you fan them to burn brighter than either of us, okay?"

Naruto didn't really understand the message but committed it to memory nonetheless, even if it seemed to amuse Kaito for some reason. He nodded and a wistful expression crossed Kaito's face before he got serious.

"First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open! Second Gate: Gate of Healing, Open! Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open! Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, Open! Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit, Open!, Sixth Gate: Gate of View, Open! Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder, Open!"

Kaito's eyes found Naruto's and what seemed like a lifetime passed between them. A small smile graced Kaito's face as he spoke,

"Eighth Gate: Gate of Death, Open!"

Mikoto, who had heard Kaito but didn't believe he would open all eight gates looked around in alarm.

"No! Kaito, if you open all eight gates you will die. Surely you can finish them off with seven!?"

Kaito's skin turned red and chakra burst forth from his body. His eyes were laser focused though, and he locked eyes with his last and best friend. He had already resolved to stay back and fight. If he didn't use every bit of power he had than his last stand would be worthless.

"Go, get him out of here. I think we are in the Land of Rice. Go south west and you should find the village!" Kaito said simply. Kaito then grabbed Mikoto before she could protest and threw them both in a rough south westerly direction with all of his strength.

Naruto never got to say a word to his comrade before he found both Mikoto and himself flying through the air. Activating his Byakugan again, the bright flare of Kaito's chakra burned brighter than anything Naruto had seen before. Almost as soon as Kaito had thrown them, the enemies had managed to catch up.

Naruto watched with pride as Kaito managed to silence four of the chakra signatures before he started to slow down significantly. His bright chakra had dimmed, almost at the point of it going out before he managed to snuff out the last enemy behind them. Before Naruto could feel relief however, Kaito's chakra went out completely. Naruto knew that he only had Mikoto left.  _'I will_ _ **not**_ _let Mikoto send me on by myself. She is the closest thing I have to a mum and I will burn before I leave her to die.'_

xXx

However, Kaito's sacrifice had down the trick. Naruto failed to register anymore chakra signatures for several hours. He had started to believe that they might have gotten away before another chakra source entered the range of his Byakugan.

"Mum!" Naruto whispered without thinking, "There is another chakra source approaching. It's coming from our front rather than behind us. I don't know if they are friendly or not."

Mikoto paused on the tree branch she was currently standing on. She was in Fire country, she was sure of it.  _'If I make a big enough distraction, surely patrolling Leaf ninja will detect our presence.'_

Shifting Naruto so that he was in a piggy back position, Mikoto took a defensive stance. She was prepared for many things, an enemy shinobi, a Leaf patrol or even a random Leaf genin team on a training exercise. Not in her wildest dreams did Mikoto expect to see her oldest son appear several tree branches away from her.

"Itachi? Is that really you?" Mikoto questioned.

For his part, Itachi was astounded to see his mother. The village had declared her legally dead a few months ago. "Mother, what? How are you alive?"

Mikoto wanted nothing more than to believe that her son had come to find her but caution proved to be the better part of valour here.

With narrowed eyes, Mikoto said, "If you are truly my son, tell me something that only Itachi would know. Something personal that no-one else could possibly know."

Itachi grimaced, having his own mother look at him with such suspicion hurt far more than he would ever be willing to tell. Thinking quickly, Itachi gave his answer,

"Back when I was five, Shisui and I managed to dye all the Uchiha Elder's formal clothing a bright yellow. You grounded me for a week while telling me that if it had been anyone else it would have been for a month."

Mikoto let out a relieved sigh. Yes, an enemy ninja interrogating Itachi might have been able to extract information from her son but details like that would almost certainly be over looked. However she wanted to be absolutely sure, she now trusted this Itachi with her life but not Naruto's.

"Okay, what did I give Sasuke for his seventh birthday?" It was a trick question, in reality Mikoto had not been allowed to give Sasuke a birthday present. Fugaku had forbidden it when Sasuke had been unable to perform the Grand Fireball jutsu to his father's expectations.

Itachi frowned in thought. "If I am recalling correctly, father forbid Sasuke from getting any birthday gifts since he couldn't perform the Grand Fireball technique to the same standard that I did when I was Sasuke's age."

Finally believing that her son had found her, Mikoto dropped her guard. There was absolutely no reason to think that an enemy had extracted both useless titbits of information.

"Itachi, thank god you found me. You have to get us back to the village. I found Naruto Uzumaki and I am sure that the Hokage will be anxious to see him."

Itachi was relieved. He had thought his mother dead, taken against her will and forced to do things he had nightmares about. Not to mention that the first part of his new mission was completed so suddenly. Itachi didn't really think he would actually find the missing Naruto and that he would be forced to go on with his infiltration of Akatsuki without finding the boy.

"Mother, I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are alive. I have a lot to tell you but first I must deliver a message."

With that, Itachi took out the scroll that Jiraiya had given him and opened it. It contained a localized summoning circle, good for limited use. Seeing that it was only useable two more times, Itachi bit his thumb, drawing blood before going through the necessary hand signs.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

With that done, a small messenger toad materialized. Giving instructions to the toad to tell Jiraiya that Itachi had found Naruto and that Jiraiya was needed as soon as possible, Itachi let the toad disperse to deliver the message. He only hoped that Jiraiya was able to get to his location quickly.

Turning back to his mother, Itachi frowned, "Mother, there is  **so much** I need to tell you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?
> 
> Please review.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chaper!


	6. Chapter 6

Silence permeated the trees surrounding Mikoto. She was mentally reeling from what Itachi had just explained to her.  _'I knew Fugaku was upset about the village's treatment of our clan. He had been entertaining the idea of a coup for a time but I never imagined that he would actually go through with it.'_

Mikoto looked at her oldest son and asked, "What happened to Sasuke?! Is he okay? You said that only the guilty were killed, so how many of our clan live?"

The remorse of killing his own father could be seen clearly in Itachi's eyes as he replied. "Sasuke is alive. The Third Hokage himself swore to me to protect him. It was one of the requirements for me to complete the mission.

"The elderly couple, Daiki and Kaori still live along with their grandchildren, Daisuke and Yuuta. Kumiko and her baby brother Shin are living with their mother. Unfortunately I had to kill their father since he was involved. I was also forced to orphan young Eri. Apart from killing father and leaving Sasuke, that is what I regret most; taking away a seven year old girl's parents and older brother leaving her all alone."

Itachi paused. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes briefly before continuing, "I am not familiar with their names but three girls and a boy were also orphaned. Finally, I could not bear the thought of killing Izumi. She is one of my best friends and although she will probably despise me for my actions, I can cope with her hatred so long as she lives to give it."

Mikoto felt a great weight fall on her shoulders. Not counting Sasuke and herself, only twelve members of her clan still lived. To make it worse, Mikoto was the only skilled ninja left with only Izumi being old enough to have graduated from the academy. Daiki and Kaori were too old and would have their hands full trying to hold together her clan as the only real adults left. This meant that Mikoto was the only real form of income for fourteen people.

Naruto was currently gazing at Itachi. Although he remembered that Mikoto had two sons, it had been so long that he had forgotten their faces. Although Mikoto had let her guard down, Naruto stayed watchful. He only trusted one other person excluding Kurama.  _'Even with him, I don't know how much of that trust is just part of the deal we made.'_

"Wait," Mikoto said, "Itachi, I know that you are truly talented but when I got kidnapped, at the level you were at there is no way that you could beat Fugaku. He was a stubborn fool but powerful. What changed?"

In response, Itachi closed his eyes and recounted his experience with Danzo and Shisui's death. Itachi opened his eyes, his own Mangekyo flaring and answered, "Watching Shisui die caused my Mangekyo Sharingan to awaken. During the Massacre, I discovered that I have an almost unstoppable genjutsu called Moon Reader and access to black flames named Amaterasu that consume everything they touch.

Also yes, father was strong but when you vanished something seemed to break inside him. He almost seemed to wither away before the coup began, not to mention that it seemed that father couldn't bring himself to fight me. It was almost as if he respected my decision to side with the village and let me kill him without a fight."

The news that her husband had been so affected by her kidnapping shocked Mikoto. They had had a political marriage with the sole purpose of siring strong Uchiha. She had been a loyal and dutiful wife but love had not truly sprung from their union. A deep respect and understanding was as far as it went, at least that was what Mikoto had thought. It was only with the birth of Sasuke that Mikoto may have felt the inkling of a deeper connection to her husband but she was snatched away before she could explore this new development.

' _If I had been there, could I have convinced Fugaku to hold off on his coup? Would we have begun a true relationship? Wait, what's done is done. I can't dwell on the past when I have my sons; if I hadn't been kidnapped than Naruto would have died. I need to help all of them grow into good men who won't repeat Fugaku's mistakes.'_

While Mikoto was pondering her future, Itachi looked at Naruto. He had managed to find the missing boy, just as the Hokage had ordered. Curious, Itachi asked Naruto, "Hello Naruto. Do you remember me? Where have you been these past five years?"

Seeing as Mikoto had not withheld any information, Naruto decided to trust her decision. In his customary whisper, Naruto explained, "I don't really remember you. I was taken by enemy ninja and forced to compete in death matches. I didn't keep count but I had to fight once a week. I had to learn fire transformation to defend myself. All of this could have been avoided if people had been able to see the boy and not the beast inside."

Shock ran right through to Itachi's core when he heard Naruto's answer. Never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that Naruto had been in such dire circumstances. Hurt, yes. Abused, sure but being forced to kill other people? No it never crossed his mind. Mentally calculating Itachi figured out that Naruto had to have killed at the very least two hundred people.  _'Although the number is probably closer to two hundred and fifty dead by Naruto's hand. Good lord, barely the age of eleven and he has killed more people than most of the Leaf ninja. I wonder how damaged his mind is, can he be trusted to hold himself together? Also, what is with this whispering?'_

Stunned by Naruto's revelation, all three of them fell into an awkward silence. By unspoken agreement, they all resumed their journey back to Konoha. Itachi knew that he was persona non grata with his home village but he was determined to get his mother as close to safety as possible.

After a couple of hours travelling in silence, Mikoto looked to her left and asked Itachi, "How did you manage to find me so quickly? From what you told me, you had no idea where Naruto could be but quite soon after we managed to escape you found us."

Itachi frowned, "I am not completely sure. I had been training my Mangekyo abilities in the early morning when I discovered my Susano'o. Once I did, I felt a rather strange mental pull directing me north east. Unsure as to why I started running in that direction, trusting in my power to protect myself if it turned out to be a trap. Although I am not sure, I believe that maybe my Mangekyo felt and reacted to your Mangekyo and formed some kind of bond. It may sound far-fetched but it's the only thing I can think of, maybe it's the fact that you are my mother that makes the difference here."

Not completely satisfied with that explanation but unable to give one in return, Mikoto supposed that it was the most plausible reason. Itachi suddenly stiffened and looked to a point to his upper right. Mikoto noticed this and they both got into fighting stances as Naruto activated his Byakugan.

"Guys," Naruto informed in his stage whisper. "I can only see one person nearby. Though they appear to have more chakra than any other person I have seen before."

Alarmed by this announcement, both Uchiha readied up for a fight. A figure dropped from some branches above the group while hidden in shadow. Moving forward cautiously, the figure stepped forward into the light.

"Itachi, I got your message. It's good to see you guys. It's me, Jiraiya."

Mikoto knew that Itachi had sent out a messenger toad to find Jiraiya but she still needed more. Not dropping her guard, Mikoto asked Jiraiya, "What did Kushina promise to do to you if she ever caught you researching her?"

Jiraiya visibly winced as the memory came back to his mind. "She said that if she ever personally caught me, she would detach my family jewels, burn them into ash, cook them into curry and force feed it to me. Needless to say, I never risked that. Kushina was the scariest women I ever met, she was scarier than Tsunade!"

As Itachi and Naruto paled, Mikoto chuckled at the memory. "Okay, last question. What is Itachi's current mission?" Mikoto knew that there was a risk of valuable intelligence leaking to the Leaf's enemies but Naruto had said that he could only detect one person with his Byakugan. She also knew from Itachi that only the Hokage and Jiraiya had been privy to his mission to infiltrate Akatsuki.

The levity on Jiraiya's face faded as he grew serious. "That is a dangerous question. Only two other people know the truth to that question. I can only assume that Itachi told you about it," as he said that, he shot a sharp look at Itachi, who nodded once. "Since I recognise his chakra and I personally gave him the means to summon that messenger toad, I know its Itachi. Even if he lost to an enemy who took the scroll, I trust in his fortitude to not reveal valuable information under duress. Therefore, I shall trust that he is convinced that you are truly Mikoto. As to your question, all I shall say is that Itachi has to flee the village and infiltrate a certain organisation."

Nodding in agreement, Mikoto finally felt safe for the first time in years. Aside from the Hokage, Jiraiya was probably the strongest ninja Konoha had. The fear that all her friends died for nothing faded away, their sacrifice had enabled Mikoto to get Naruto to safety.

"Okay, I believe it's you. We have a lot to talk about."

With that said, Mikoto gave Jiraiya a detailed account of her imprisonment, with Naruto adding his own experiences. Grief flashed on Jiraiya's face when he heard about Naruto's plight. The full story took about an hour of constant talking before Mikoto finished.

When she was done, Jiraiya performed a summoning jutsu and a large orange toad appeared from a cloud of smoke. It had dark blue stripes all over its body and a large scroll was held in its tongue. The toad unfurled its tongue, presenting the scroll to Jiraiya.

Taking it, Jiraiya turned to Naruto, who was standing next to Mikoto, and said, "Naruto, what I just did was a Summoning jutsu. It allows me to summon a creature that I have formed a blood contract with, which is recorded with this scroll here.

"I would like you to sign it. This will allow the toads to be able to reverse summon you to their home, Mount Myoboku. Therefore, if you go missing again, the toads will be able to summon you to safety easily and it will also let me find you wherever you are.

"In exchange, you will be able to summon the toads to help aid you against any enemies you may face in the future. Make no mistake; they are a force to be reckoned with."

Naruto was interested. The summoned toad did look strong but he wanted an example. "Can you show me how you might use toads in a fight?"

Grinning Jiraiya summoned Gamahiro after he had moved some distance away from the others. The giant blue-green toad gazed down at them all. He had two enormous katanas strapped to his back and he towered over the trees. Thanking Gamahiro, Jiraiya had the toad dispel himself back to Mount Myoboku.

Leaping back to the others, Jiraiya was delighted to see the look of disbelief on Naruto's face. Chuckling, he spoke, "Okay kid, as you can see toads are strong. Gamahiro there is one of the strongest toads there is. There would only be a tiny number of ninja in our village capable of beating him in a fight. Also, not all toads are giant sized like him. A toad that is greatly respected for his wisdom and strength is named Fukasaku, who is not much bigger than the messenger toad you saw Itachi summon earlier. So what do you say, want to sign the contract?"

Naruto was sure. Gamahiro was certainly impressive and the knowledge that the toads could get him out of trouble if Akari captured him again was a great relief. Following Jiraiya's instruction, Naruto signed the contract with a bloody thumb, before leaving the fingerprints of his right hand underneath his name. After being told the necessary hand signs, Naruto eagerly started.

Gathering chakra, he used the majority of his own reserves as well as a large amount Kurama's; Naruto performed the necessary hand signs before he slammed his right hand palm down on the ground, whispering "Summoning jutsu!"

A massive explosion of smoke appeared and Naruto found that he was very high up in the air. Looking down, he saw that he was standing on the head of a giant toad! Years of conditioning meant that a small, satisfied smile was Naruto's only reaction to his success. He was broken from his moment of triumph however when the toad underneath him rumbled in an irritated voice,

"What's this?! Jiraiya why have you summoned me!? You better have a lot of booze for me to drink!"

Jiraiya fell over in surprise. This kid had managed to summon Gamabunta, and on his first attempt! Jiraiya knew that the necessary chakra to summon Bunta was huge and even if Naruto was an Uzumaki, the kid didn't have the reserves to do it or at least he wouldn't until he got older.  _'He must have used the Nine Tail's chakra. Mikoto said that they had a mutual agreement to help each other but to see proof of it with my own eyes, it's unbelievable. Not to mention that Naruto has so much raw potential it's staggering.'_

xXx

Looking up, Gamabunta spied a human child that he had never seen before standing upon his head. "Look kid, I don't know who you are so I'll be nice. Jump down off my head and tell me where Jiraiya is. He better have a good reason for summoning me, I was in the middle of lunch!"

Naruto frowned. "Look toad, I summoned you. Jiraiya is over there, he got me to sign the toad summoning contract."

Gamabunta was highly amused. "A little squirt like you summoned me? Bah, do you take me for a fool?"

Naruto was getting annoyed now, even if it didn't register on his face. "I did summon you, look I'll prove it!"

Jumping back to the ground, Naruto moved a short distance. Drawing the largest amount of Kurama's chakra he ever had, he performed another summoning jutsu. A small puff of smoke appeared on the ground and a small toad appeared. He looked rather old, with a tuft of gray hair sitting atop his head. Comically bushy, white haired eyebrows were on his lined face. He looked rather odd wearing a grey cloak.

Blinking, the old toad looked around. Seeing Naruto he asked simply, "Who are you to summon me, Fukasaku, and where is Jiraiya-boy?"

If Bunta hadn't seen it with his own eyes he would never have believed it. A child had managed to summon Fukasaku!? Deciding that he could afford to give the kid a small amount of his respect, Bunta dispelled himself while deep in thought.

"I am Naruto and Jiraiya had me sign the summoning contract. He's over there by the way,"

The old toad and Naruto both turned to look at the other Leaf ninja, who were all looking at him with astonishment. They quickly snapped out of it and approached them.

"Jiraiya-boy, I take it this Naruto is the one you have been searching for all these years?" asked Fukasaku.

"Yes Lord Fukasaku, he is also the newest toad summoner. I want to teach him as my student."

That got Fukasaku's attention.  _'Jiraiya-boy intends to take a new student, what about the Prophecy? I will watch this boy with great interest.'_

In response Fukasaku only said, "Oh really? Well make sure you teach him well. Perhaps in time we shall get another Sage? Well it has been good to meet you Naruto but Ma' did just get lunch ready, so I bid you farewell, good day everyone," with another puff of smoke, Fukasaku had dispelled himself.

With all the excitement over, Naruto suddenly felt exhausted. He yawned, which wasn't missed by Mikoto. "Okay Naruto, with all that chakra you used, I think you should have something to eat before an afternoon nap."

Hearing this, Jiraiya reached into a pocket and took out a high energy protein bar. "Sorry kid, it's all I have on me at the moment,"

Naruto thanked Jiraiya before promptly devouring the bar in a few short seconds. Lying down in the shade, Naruto drifted off to sleep.

xXx

Itachi didn't think he could be surprised anymore today.  _'So much has happened. I recall young Naruto not being anything special, he didn't stand out as a talent but from everything I have heard he is a prodigy.'_

Itachi's thought that he couldn't be surprised anymore was soon shattered when he heard his mother's next words.

"Itachi, if what I am remembering about the Mangekyo is correct; if we overuse them we will eventually go blind, right? However if you transplant Mangekyo with a close blood relative, Fugaku said that you mange to bypass that weakness. I want to transplant eyes with you. As your mother, we are close in blood and I  **will not** allow you to infiltrate this Akatsuki while risking blindness!"

After thinking it over for several moments, Itachi agreed. It really was a win-win situation. With Jiraiya providing the limited medical help that he knew, which he had picked up from Tsunade, the Uchiha mother and son swapped eyes. Even with a bandage wrapped around her head, Mikoto could feel a new sense of power rushing through her.  _'With this step, I have become even stronger. Hopefully I will be strong enough to protect Naruto from all enemies."_

Itachi's voice cut through the air. "Um, mother, there is one more thing I need to tell you. Since I needed to become a criminal, the Hokage didn't inform the village about the coup. Since I thought you were dead, Sasuke was the next choice to become clan leader but I needed to give him a strong enough drive to ensure that one day he would lead the Uchiha back to greatness.

"So, uh," Itachi's voice grew scared, as if he was worried about Mikoto's reaction, "I, uh, used my Moon Reader genjutsu on Sasuke. I wanted to make him hate me, to make his entire goal in life to become strong enough to kill me. This would make Sasuke truly powerful and restore the clan's honour. So I trapped him in a genjutsu and forced him to watch me kill our clan, over and over again."

"WHAT! WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!? ITACHI HOW ON EARTH COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR BROTHER!?" Mikoto's explosive reaction was justified. The sheer volume of her voice managed to wake up Naruto, who was alert instantly, activating his Byakugan in search on the enemy. Seeing no one, he looked between the two arguing ninja.

"I can't believe everyone said you were a genius Itachi, now I'm going to have to fix Sasuke's mind before he decides to commit to hating you entirely! This is without a doubt the stupidest thing you have ever done!"

Mikoto was stuck with all of them however, until her eyes had healed properly.  _'I need to get back to the village as soon as possible. Sasuke needs me more than ever!'_

xXx

Even though she forced Jiraiya to help her walk in the right direction while she healed, Mikoto constantly fretted over how long this was taking. On the last day before Jiraiya said she could remove her bandages he told her about the idea that he had thought of.

"Mikoto, I know you wish to get back to the village fast, I have no problem with that. However I wish to spend time with Naruto still. Out here, I can train him and no one will be able to see his true strength. People like Danzo would be obsessed with influencing Naruto as soon as he steps foot back there. They will want to control him, turn him into a mindless weapon but out here I can get him up to snuff and manage to keep his progress a secret." Jiraiya also just wanted to spend time with his godson.

Mikoto was torn. On one hand, she wanted to get back to her baby boy but on the other she didn't want to part with Naruto. She couldn't deny the truth of his arguments either so she agonized over the decision, mentally going in circles before Naruto took her hand.

"It's okay mum," Naruto whispered but with warmth in his voice. "Sasuke needs you more than I do right now. Go and when we see each other again, I'll be stronger than ever!"

Seeing Naruto making a mature decision for her sake sealed the deal. Mikoto nodded. "Alright Naruto but there is one more thing. I  **will not** leave you without doing  **everything**  in my power to help my son; I wish to transplant my left Sharingan to you. This way, I know without a doubt that you will be able to become the most powerful shinobi in the world."

Naruto didn't really want his mother's eye but could also see that this was not up for discussion. Giving his reluctant assent to her plan he gave her the tightest hug he could manage.

"Itachi, I know you have to find Akatsuki but please, help train Naruto with his Sharingan before you leave. Please, as a favour to me."

After a fitful night's sleep, Naruto received Mikoto's eye. With Kurama's rapid healing Naruto found that he was blinking with the sudden sharpness of the world, as well as the return of his depth perception. Naruto's final hug for Mikoto put the one from the previous day to shame. His mother gave him a quick kiss on his brow before she took off at top speed for the village.

' _I promise everyone. Mum, Hitomi, Kaito, Koba, Muta and Sora, I will become the strongest ninja in the world! I will protect my friends and burn Akari into ash!'_

xXx

Konoha gate guards Izumo and Kotetsu were enjoying another pleasant day with nothing to trouble them. Sure it was boring but most importantly, it was a relatively safe job with low risk. That suited them just fine. Izumo stood, intending to grab his lunch when a woman appeared in front of them with, courtesy of a Body Flicker.

Her sudden appearance caused both guards to slip into a defensive stance, ready for battle. Kotetsu swiftly analysed this new potential threat. It was a short woman with black hair, bangs framing her face. She was clearly tired and wore dirty, tattered clothing and as she turned her face to the two guards, Kotetsu saw that she was missing an eye.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Izumo questioned with veiled hostility.

As the woman slowly straightened, she took on a relaxed pose. Just by looking at her one could see someone who posed no threat, or at least someone skilled enough to act with their body language. Slowly raising her arms in surrender, the women spoke calmly.

"My name is Mikoto Uchiha. I went missing at least two years ago. I have important information that I need to tell the Hokage."

This revelation threw both guards completely. Mikoto had been declared legally dead and neither one of them knew what to do. Thankfully, an ANBU Flickered several paces behind the women who claimed to be Mikoto.

"Stay there. If you are who you say you are, than you should have no problem following orders?"

Seeing that Mikoto was complying, the ANBU silently signalled his squad, who were hiding in the trees nearby, to inform the Hokage of the situation. Once he was done, he asked Mikoto another question.

"The Hokage will be informed. Don't do anything sudden, it will be taken as a potential threat. Just to satisfy my curiosity, who is Sasuke?"

Remaining in her relaxed stance with arms raised, Mikoto smiled. "Sasuke is my son. His birthday is the twenty third of July and he dislikes food that is too sweet. He idolizes his older brother Itachi but is quite talented himself. Is that enough for your curiosity?"

xXx

To say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was surprised when an ANBU appeared in his office, telling him that an unknown woman claiming to be Mikoto Uchiha had just appeared at the front gates would've been an understatement.

After being informed that this woman had made no aggressive moves and was waiting calmly Hiruzen made up his mind. He had to see this woman, he needed answers.

Placing his pipe on his desk, Hiruzen used a Body Flicker to arrive near the gates, flanked by his personal guard. As he approached, he could see the woman in question standing still just outside of his village. When he got close enough to be heard easily, Hiruzen asked,

"You claim to be Mikoto Uchiha. Luckily, my late wife was friends with Mikoto. Tell me, what is the real reason you named your son Sasuke?"

Hiruzen had been informed about the true reason for the Uchiha to be named after his own father. Truthfully, his late wife had found the entire conversation to be amusing since Mikoto had apparently found something that frightened Kushina.

"Oh, Lord Hokage," Mikoto started in response, "It's good to see you again. I named Sasuke after your father in the hope that my son would grow up to become as strong a shinobi as his namesake. Biwako was also present when Kushina asked me if child birth was truly painful."

Hiruzen couldn't help it. He laughed as the memory from that day flashed through his mind. Biwako had always found time in her day to regale him with tales about her day. This particular memory stood out for two reasons. One, his father now had a namesake born into the Uchiha clan and two; the fierce and fiery Kushina Uzumaki had found something that scared her.

Collecting his thoughts, Hiruzen was convinced that this was truly Mikoto Uchiha. However he didn't know if she was being influenced by a third party with ill intent therefore he had one final thing to ask this woman.

"Ha, not many people know the truth about that story. I do believe that you are Mikoto but I don't know if you've been brain washed or if you are suffering under a genjutsu. Do you consent to a member of the Yamanaka clan to read your memories in an attempt to find any subterfuge?"

"I do, Lord Hokage however, I should warn you that before I managed to find my way back, I ran into Jiraiya who, after verifying that I was Mikoto, informed me about many things; such as the fate of my clan as well the  _fate_ of my son, Itachi."

Hiruzen caught Mikoto's hint. He was now sure that this woman was truly the wife of Fugaku and that she had a meeting with both Itachi and Jiraiya. With her passing both men's suspicions, Hiruzen knew that he would have to give strict guidelines to the Yamanaka that scanned her mind, lest the secret nature of Itachi's mission was found out. Snapping his fingers to signal the nearest ANBU, Hiruzen relayed his newest orders.

"Bring Inoichi here. Tell him this is a priority and that he needs to get here as soon as possible. Inform him that he will need to confirm that a suspect does not have malicious intent towards our village."

xXx

In the time that they were waiting for Inoichi to arrive, Hiruzen had simple stools brought out and a light lunch for everyone present.  _'Even if she hasn't been completely vetted, there is no point in being impolite and Mikoto is clearly tired and hungry.'_

Even as he ate Hiruzen was subtly watching Mikoto. She was thin but not malnourished. She had several scars visible on her arms and legs but the biggest change was in her eye. She had clearly lost her right eye but the haunted look in her left reminded him of ninja who had seen war.  _'She has spilled blood. Far more than most ninja in my ranks, I wonder how many people has she killed now?'_

The appearance of Inoichi roused Hiruzen from his thoughts. Swiftly approaching the blonde-haired man, Hiruzen spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Inoichi, I know the ANBU has briefed you on the specifics. However, you must  _not_ scan her most recent memories, at least the last day or so. I am convinced this is Mikoto and you are just a safeguard but I have reason to believe she has found information that is an S ranked secret and I cannot afford this secret to get out. Be careful please."

Inoichi's poker face never wavered but he nodded when Hiruzen had finished speaking. Approaching Mikoto, he reached out with his right hand and placed it upon the top of her head. Initiating his clan's secret Mind Probing technique, he was mentally transported into Mikoto's memories.

Even though he had years to sort through, Inoichi was able to work at the speed of thought. Nevertheless, it still took him about two minutes before he was satisfied that this was truly his wife's old friend Mikoto. He obeyed the Hokage, skipping over the last two days before dispelling his technique and withdrawing from Mikoto's memories.

Taking a step back, he smiled at Mikoto before turning to the Hokage. "It's okay Lord Hokage. This is truly Mikoto and she is of sound mind. I am certain of this."

Nodding his head, Hiruzen dismissed Inoichi before turning to face the now standing Mikoto, Hiruzen said,

"Welcome back. I know that you must be desperate to see Sasuke but first I need to hear your report. Let's go to my office first; I'll have your son brought there after we finish our talk."

xXx

It had been a week and Naruto was still trying to understand the man who had offered to train him. Jiraiya, a self confessed super pervert, was usually cheerful and trying to engage Naruto in conversation. Naruto, despite himself, found Jiraiya to be a funny guy. Naruto didn't really laugh and he was still very quiet but enjoyed the man's presence, even if he didn't really follow most of what Jiraiya spoke about when talking of his 'research'.

Itachi was an interesting guy to talk to. He was reserved like Naruto but managed to draw Naruto into a discussion without Naruto realising it. Although Itachi mainly spoke about the Sharingan, he found time to speak on other things, such as how a delicious dinner of cabbage onigiri should always be followed with a plate of dango. Itachi had given Naruto a simple black eye patch, just like pirate. This was because transplanted Sharingan couldn't be turned off and would constantly drain Naruto's chakra unless it was covered.

Naruto was roused from his musings when Jiraiya approached him. "Okay Naruto, yesterday we went through the two jutsu academy students need to know so that they can pass. However today I will teach you a slightly more advanced jutsu, the Body Flicker. This jutsu makes a user extremely fast for a brief period of time. It is extremely useful but hard to use in combat. When you manage to pull it off, you will see why.

"First, you focus your chakra and channel it into your legs. After you've done that, compress the chakra down into your feet. You can't simply channel chakra right into your feet; it needs to be compressed to provide an explosive burst of energy. After that, you release the compression and take a step while focusing on where you want to be. If done correctly, you will appear to teleport to the location you wanted to go to. Now go on, give it a try."

Following the instructions, Naruto took a step while focusing on the spot next to Jiraiya. It didn't go as planned and Naruto found himself flying through the air from the energy released from his feet. Jiraiya appeared next to him, grabbed Naruto's arm and guided him back to the ground.

Chuckling slightly Jiraiya explained, "You didn't compress enough chakra. I know that you probably picked a spot nearby but remember that you are moving so fast you appear to teleport. This takes up a large amount of energy which then also has to be compressed. It's okay; it's rare for someone to instantly pick up the Body Flicker after one try."

Naruto didn't say anything in response he simply just prepared himself for another attempt. This second try was far better, he ended up next to Jiraiya but found himself feeling rather tired. Naruto had poured a large amount of chakra into his feet, not knowing how much he needed. Seeing Naruto's condition Jiraiya continued his explanation.

"You see, as long as you use enough chakra to get to where you want; it won't matter if you use too much. All it will mean is that, depending on how much extra you used, you may get to your destination a little faster. This is a principle that makes repeated use in combat difficult. You cannot skip any of the steps and you need to have excellent chakra control to ensure that you don't use too much while using a Flicker. You will also need to know the exact amount needed to cross a distance beforehand, this all comes down to practice but very few people specialise in it. Make no mistake, using multiple Flickers in a fight would definitely give you an advantage but doing so much calculation before you even move makes it unappealing. You however, may be suited best for this. Can you think of why?"

Naruto had sat on the ground while listening to Jiraiya's explanation. Bringing his right hand up to his chin in thought, Naruto was silent for about a minute before speaking in his stage whisper, "I have Kurama, and he has enormous chakra reserves.

"Using his chakra, it won't matter if my control isn't perfect since he can afford to have a little bit wasted when I use multiple Flickers. Also, teleporting rapidly all over the battle will be extremely confusing for anyone but since I have three hundred and sixty degree vision, I won't lose track of my enemy. Itachi also said the Sharingan greatly enhances my perception. It allows me to read a person's movements and perfectly predict their next action.

"In this aspect, combined with my Byakugan, I won't ever lose track of my opponent and be able to predict his movements as I teleport all over the place."

Jiraiya was happy. Naruto had managed to understand that using multiple Flickers was something that would be uniquely suited for him, all he needed was practise. "Good analysis Naruto. You are really something, the last time I saw talent like this was when I taught your father,"

That simple statement commanded all of Naruto's attention. He had no idea who is parents were, only that they had died when he was a baby. Absolutely no-one in the village would tell him anything about his family.

"You know who my dad is!? Did you know my mum to?!" Naruto questioned eagerly. Without realising it, Naruto had shot to his feet, gazing into Jiraiya's eyes with guarded excitement.

Giving a slight sigh, Jiraiya asked Naruto to sit and then joined the boy on the grass. "Okay, first thing you have to understand, your parents loved you. They loved you so much that they sacrificed themselves to save your life when you were a baby. You father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Your-,"

Jiraiya had been cut off when Naruto shot to his feet again. "My dad is the Fourth!? That can't be right, the village loves him and they hate me. W-why did my own dad seal Kurama in me!?"

"There is a reason why you hold the Fox. No-one knows how or why but when the Nine Tails attacked Minato was forced to make a choice. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous Demon Container for the Fox. Giving birth to you had weakened her seal and  _somehow_ the Fox got free. With the Fox now out of your mother, she was severely weakened but managed to survive thanks to her Uzumaki blood.

"I'm not sure on the specifics but the Fox needed to be sealed again except Kushina was too weak, she wouldn't have the strength to hold it at bay. A new seal needed to be designed, one far stronger than the one Kushina had. This would keep the Fox at bay quite easily but a new host was needed, ideally a baby since their bodies are most adaptable to housing a newly sealed Tailed Beast."

Jiraiya sighed and looked over to his right; Naruto had sat down once again but was looking at the ground. Running a hand through his white hair, Jiraiya continued, "Minato was a good man. He lead by example and never asked something of his subjects that he wasn't willing to do himself. This also meant that he wouldn't think about asking parents to have the Fox sealed away in their baby, even if he had to time to do so. He made a choice to seal the Fox in you and hoped that one day you would be able to harness the Fox's power and become a hero of our village. Minato and Kushina both died defending you from the Fox when it realised that you were to be its new jailer. His last act was to seal the Fox and save the village. This is the main reason why the villagers hated you. The Hokage kept the identity of your parents a secret but had informed the adults about the sealing. The people were unable to look past their hate and didn't see a young innocent boy; they saw the reason why the beloved Fourth died. They saw the Nine Tailed Fox. Almost all of the adults were stupidly ignorant and were most ashamed of their actions when, after you had been kidnapped, The Third Hokage revealed the truth about your parentage. I'm sorry,"

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as Jiraiya finished his tale. Glancing to his right again, Jiraiya spied tears running down Naruto's face but the poor boy wasn't making a sound. Not happy to finish the conversation on that note, Jiraiya shifted his body. He was now sitting on his knees, calling Naruto's name to get the boy's attention, Jiraiya gave a bow and began to speak in a pained voice.

"There is one more thing you need to know. Your parents named me your godfather. I was supposed to take care of you if anything ever happened to them but I failed. I failed spectacularly. I could give you my excuses but it wouldn't be good enough. I failed you Naruto, you needed someone and I wasn't there.

"I am truly sorry. I cannot tell you how much I regret my actions regarding you. You might hate me but please, I hope maybe one day you will be able to forgive me."

Naruto had been shocked when he saw Jiraiya bowing on the floor in front of him. Emotions welled up within him but he didn't know how to manage them. A sense of betrayal was there but Jiraiya had also told him the truth, he had told him the names of his parents. Deciding to shelve his emotions for the moment, as he had in the past, Naruto whispered to Jiraiya.

"I-I don't hate you. I do wish you had been around, you don't know how painful being alone is. I'm not sure about forgiveness but I do want to thank you for the truth. You didn't have to tell me about being my godfather but you did even though you weren't sure how I would react. Well, promise me, always be honest and I think in the future I will be able to forgive you. I- I'm not sure how to feel right now."

Jiraiya raised his head, relief written all over his face. He had feared getting hatred even loathing from Naruto. Jiraiya could be blamed for everything Naruto had gone through at the Pit since he hadn't been around when Naruto was six. Resolving to be there for his godson, Jiraiya agreed to be honest with Naruto.

Turning away slightly, Naruto closed his eyes and entered his mindscape. Walking right up to Kurama's cage, Naruto looked the giant fox in the eye and whispered in a deadly tone, "Why didn't you ever tell me the truth? You said we were friends. I was happy to finally have a friend and I find out that he killed my parents! Well, what do you have to say for yourself!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? I made up my own mechanics for the Body Flicker since I intend for it to be a major part of Naruto's arsenal. I also tried to make it difficult to use in combat by making it mentally taxing, otherwise everyone would spam it. 
> 
> In a previous chapter, I made up some rules about hand signs as well. 
> 
> If you're curious, Mikoto's EMS looks the same just the colours are inverted. 
> 
> Please review.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

After Naruto asked his question, silence filled the mindscape.  _ **'I knew I should've told him as we were running but I didn't want to distract him while it was just Mikoto and Naruto. How can I put this?'**_ Kurama was slightly embarrassed, he knew that he had made a big mistake by withholding the truth and now he was going to answer for it.

" **Naruto, you have to understand. I wanted to tell you but while in The Pit, that knowledge would've only distracted you. You would've spent a large amount of time wondering why Minato did what he did and what your mother looked like. The first few weeks after we got to The Pit, that kind of distraction would've been disastrous."**

Kurama paused, marshalling his thoughts. He needed to make sure that Naruto didn't explode at him but he also knew that he deserved the truth, even if it might be painful. He continued,

" **Don't forget, Mikoto said that the Third Hokage had told everyone the truth about you. Judging by the way they treated you, all your friends back there, particularly Sora, knew the truth about your family and didn't tell you either. I'm going to guess and say that their reasoning for not doing so was similar to my own. I know I promised to help you get stronger; telling you the truth at that time would've only been delaying that but for what it's worth... I apologise."**

The apology seemed to be forced passed Kurama's lips. After a distinct pause, Kurama continued.

" **I did indeed kill your parents; they intended to imprison me against my will** _ **again.**_ **You know how bad it got in The Pit, not being able to move freely, locked in a cage when all you** _ **yearn**_ **for is fresh air. When the only thing you could possibly want at the time is the ability to** _ **choose**_ **what you want to do. You** _ **understand**_ **what it feels like to have your basic right to choose taken away.**

" **I had been sealed away for many decades by the First Hokage. When the Masked Man unleashed me from my cage, I breathed free air again. I had been demonised by humanity for centuries and I had grown to hate your kind. My sudden freedom was intoxicating and I; I had absolutely no intention of being sealed away again. I won't hide the fact I killed your parents but I do have one small gift. Through my eyes, I witnessed your parents last moments. They spent them giving you their blessings and love and if you would like, I can show the memory from those years ago, you can hear your parents for the first time. Just uh- ignore my claw stabbing them."**

While Kurama had been explaining, Naruto had been pacing back and forth but when he heard the offer he froze.  _'I can hear them? I can_ _ **see them!?'**_ Turning to face Kurama, Naruto replied,

"Well I'm not super happy with you right now but I can understand your reasons. I will take you up on your offer though; I wish to see this memory."

Red chakra leaked through the bars of Kurama's cell and enveloped Naruto. As it covered his face he felt a distinct tug as he was sent towards Kurama's memory.

xXx

Naruto wiped his face, brushing away the first tears of happiness that he had ever cried. He had  _seen_ his parents.  _'I look like my father but I can't believe how beautiful my mother was; I kinda wish I had red hair like her although I think I have her cheek bones.'_

Viewing the memory had been an enlightening experience. Kurama had said it would be through his eyes but in reality, Naruto had appeared to be an invisible ghost, able to walk around and see things from different angles but unable to interact with anything in the memory. He used this mainly to feast his eyes upon his mother.

No matter how much he wiped, the tears refused to stop flowing. Idly, Naruto noticed that some of his tears flowed down the channel of scarred tissue that crossed over his eyes.  _'Without a thought, they both threw themselves in front of Kurama to protect me. Mother said to make friends, to eat healthy and make my dreams come true. Also, apparently I have to watch out for Jiraiya and his 'vices', whatever they are._

' _They said they love me,_

' _I can't really stay angry at Kurama, not after he let me see my parents for the first time. I guess I'll reveal some truth to him,'_

Naruto gave up his attempts to dry his face and let his tears fall freely. Turning back to Kurama, Naruto began in a wobbly whisper, "Thank you, I never imagined I would get to see my parents."

He went to continue but the emotion caught up to him again and Naruto smiled wistfully, falling silent. Taking some time to collect himself, Naruto looked up at Kurama. Kurama had barely moved since Naruto had returned from the memory. Unsure of what to say or how to act, he simply sat in his cage waiting for Naruto to go on.

"Kurama, I understand. I won't ever be happy that you killed them but I can understand why. I would kill someone to prevent going back and I was only jailed for five years. Can we agree to be honest with each other from now on?"

A flicker of emotion flashed across Kurama's face but it vanished before it could be identified.  _ **'Well, at least he isn't looking at me like he was before. Honesty huh, I guess I can agree to that although, with the way he worded his question, this won't be binding like my pledge to help him.'**_

With a single nod, Naruto got his answer from his friend. The tears had finally petered out and he wiped his face again while taking a breath, "Well since we agreed to be honest, I figured out that somehow, you feel the same pain that I feel. Over the years, whenever I got an injury that was really bad, your voice always got rougher and you kind of curled up on the floor. I first noticed after I got branded for the first time.

"I guess you have your reasons for not mentioning this. Probably lack of trust but its' okay; even with everything I have learned today, I am still going to call you my friend and I won't hurt my friends, at least on purpose. After everything we have suffered together, I hope you can see that."

Kurama smirked. He had had a feeling that Naruto had possibly figured it out. The kid was just too damn smart for his own good.

" **Ha, you are the smartest kid I have ever seen Naruto. In truth, the seal is engineered so that I feel any pain you do but it is proportional to you. So, say you stub you toe. My body is far larger than yours and in comparison I wouldn't even feel it but due to the seal, I will feel the exact same amount of pain you would. In the beginning, I feared that you might use this as leverage to try and control me but having gotten to know you; I know that this just isn't in your character.**

" **Alright, let's be honest from this point on."**

As the two looked at each other, they both felt as if a new page had been turned. A partnership out of necessity was slowly blossoming into a real friendship.

xXx

The trio had been walking throughout the forests that filled the Fire country for two weeks. Naruto didn't know if they had a destination in mind but had single-mindedly devoted himself to practicing his Body Flicker. He was at the point where he could look at a point and know how much chakra he needed to use and compress but was still too slow at using it.

Naruto had also been practising with Itachi in the use of his Sharingan. Itachi had told Naruto, rather bluntly, that he had no real aptitude for genjutsu but with both of his eyes and Kurama; Naruto would almost always know if he was under one. However he had trained Naruto in genjutsu anyway after he realized what Naruto's Mangekyo did.

After much experimentation, Itachi discovered that the Eternal Mangekyo ability of Mikoto's left eye was a very unique genjutsu that Itachi had named 'Psylink'. Instead of attacking one's mind, it bridged them. As a form of communication, emotions and memories were shared between Naruto and his target with no restrictions. No feelings could be hidden from Psylink, and Naruto had been greatly disturbed when, during testing, he  _saw_ Itachi kill his clan and  _felt_ his disgust at his actions. Itachi had been unable to hide anything from Naruto until the Psylink had run out, nothing was left in the shadows and as a result, Naruto  _knew_ Itachi, down to his core.

In return, Itachi had been horrified as he  _witnessed_ a young Naruto cut his way through hundreds of people. He  _felt_ the numbness that had plagued him for years. Itachi had mentally screamed alongside Naruto when Naruto had gotten his brand, the pain was so raw, it over powered everything and afterwards, Itachi had physically checked his own back, the pain he felt from Naruto had been so  _real._

Although completely useless in a fight, Psylink was extremely powerful. The mental training that Itachi had received from ANBU to protect his mind was smashed aside as if it didn't exist and Psylink could be a powerful interrogation tool, provided the user was unafraid of sharing their deepest and darkest feelings and memories.

Through trial and error, it was discovered that to use Psylink, Naruto needed eye contact and that it cost a large chunk of his natural chakra reserves. It was only after a second Psylink that both Itachi and Naruto realised that they shared everything not just the painful memories. Naruto saw for the first time what a loving family home looked like and how protective of Sasuke Itachi was. Itachi felt the sheer joy Naruto had felt when they had managed to escape the Pit.

As a result of this mental communication, Naruto and Itachi had become very good friends. It was a little awkward at the start but when they realised that there were no barriers or secrets, they only had a new friendship to start from. It was refreshing knowing that there was no bullshit to cut through.

Aside from Psylink, Naruto could use the basic Sharingan genjutsu but he lacked the imagination to use it well. This didn't matter to Itachi who had known that his mother regarded Naruto as an adopted son and after going through Psylink; Itachi was just as attached to Naruto as he was to Sasuke. Itachi persisted with his training with vigour.

Naruto had one random thought,  _'I wonder if I can Psylink with Kurama?'_

xXx

Hiruzen sighed heavily. Mikoto had just finished her retelling of her imprisonment and escape. He would need to inform the clans who had lost members. He was not looking forward to talking to Hiashi Hyuga who had cherished his baby sister although he would vehemently deny it if questioned.

The details that Hiruzen could connect were very troubling. There was no doubt in his mind; it  _had_ to be something involving the Daimyo of the other countries. No single group of missing ninja could  _ever_ hope to possess the power needed to detain jonin level fighters from all five elemental nations. Hiruzen was on a slippery slope here, the amount of punishment that the other four Daimyo could smash his village with was truly terrifying. Orochimaru and Akatsuki were dangerous to be sure but neither had access to the amount of resources of this group.

The amount of influence needed to keep it all a secret was staggering and Hiruzen was in a quandary. His sense of justice told him to march on the Rice country and raze the Pit into ash but his common sense told him that it would be suicide, not just for him but his people.

The Daimyo wielded too much power; in fact the Third Shinobi World War had, indirectly, been caused by them. A decline of military power of their ninja villages did nothing to deter the Daimyo from engaging into a political game of 'I want more than the other Daimyos' and encouraged the border skirmishes with the smaller nations.

Now that Hiruzen knew the truth, he would have to calculate every move so that he wouldn't raise suspicion. He wrote a short message to the Fire Daimyo, politely asking him to visit Konoha to discuss the future and hinted at his possible retirement.  _'If that doesn't spark his interest enough to come here than I don't know what will.'_ It was also vague enough that it wouldn't raise any eyebrows if it got intercepted or was read by an informant.

Hiruzen sighed yet again, all this scheming was exhausting. He really should think about retirement soon. Pulling out his pipe, he sent the memo off with a courier. He thanked Mikoto for her time and summoned Sasuke to be brought to his office as soon as possible. He then smoked as the weight of responsibility dragged his shoulders low.

xXx

Mikoto was standing in her house's kitchen, preparing to start working on lunch for Sasuke and Eri. Even though she appeared to be at peace her mind was working away, trying to figure out how to reconnect to her son. Even though Sasuke had been overjoyed to see his mother again, he still remained an introvert. He stayed close to home but rarely spoke and Mikoto could see the barely concealed hatred smouldering in her son's eyes.

She was still furious that the Hokage had forbidden her from telling Sasuke the truth behind Itachi's actions. She understood that secrecy was important but nothing would ever be more important to Mikoto than the safety of her family. This included mental stability and it was clear that Sasuke was beginning the walk down a dark path that resulted in the loss of two of her boys.

' _Sasuke won't talk to me about Itachi. Anyone can see that he feels betrayed but I think the only person who could get Sasuke to come out of his shell is a sibling. Perhaps when Naruto comes back, they will become friends and he can help Sasuke come to terms with his hatred._

' _Eri is too young as well being a girl. I don't think Sasuke will be comfortable letting a girl see him as vulnerable. Apart from Daiki, Sasuke is the oldest male Uchiha and he has an image that he needs to maintain. Ugh, stupid male pride, I wish Sasuke would just talk to me.'_

The sound of an urgent knocking upon her front door got Mikoto's attention and she was surprised when she saw an ANBU waiting there.

"Mikoto, I was told to inform you that Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki have returned to the village. The Hokage is talking to the pair of them in his office but you are allowed to join their discussion."

The news elated Mikoto. She had not seen her adopted son in four months and had missed her ball of silent energy dearly. Quickly gathering Sasuke and Eri, she started walking to the Hokage tower.

xXx

Hiruzen was impressed. Although the details of where Jiraiya had gone were glossed over, Hiruzen had just been informed the extent of the training that Jiraiya had put Naruto through.  _'I need to see his skills for myself but just hearing about Naruto's talent is amazing. Summoning, multiple Body Flickers, making Oil and two sign less nature transformations, incredible. Add the fact that Naruto has the Mangekyo Sharingan and the Byakugan; he is almost certainly the most powerful eleven year old alive.'_

A knock on his door caused a pause to the conversation as Hiruzen called out for whoever it was to enter. A smile graced his face when he saw Mikoto with Sasuke and Eri. A sudden movement slightly startled him but it was just Naruto racing over to give his surrogate mother a tight hug.

As Jiraiya closed the door, Hiruzen began the introductions. "Now, Naruto, this young man is Sasuke Uchiha, son of Mikoto and the girl is Eri Uchiha. Eri is an orphan who Mikoto has taken into her home. Guys, this is Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who was kidnapped five years ago. The man with white hair is Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Three ninja."

Ending his hug, Naruto stepped back from Mikoto and looked at the kids in front of him. Sasuke was slightly taller than Naruto and had dark hair, the back of it spiking up and bangs framing his face just like Mikoto. His black eyes were hard and though they weren't looking at Naruto with hostility, they held a calculating quality, as if gauging how much of a threat Naruto was. Naruto's overall impression was of a boy who was very cautious. Memories from his Psylink with Itachi came to mind and Naruto realised that the hardness in Sasuke's eyes had not been there before. They were eyes that had seen death and pain.

Eri was short girl with very long hair. It was so long that is was trailing passed her waist. Naruto didn't know it but the reason it was so long was because Eri's father had said she looked nice with long hair and after the death of her family, Eri had blatantly refused to allow anyone to cut her hair. She was slightly chubby but her eyes were different to Sasuke's. They still held pain there but they weren't as hard. Naruto knew from Itachi's memories that Eri had been deeply asleep when Itachi killed her family. Itachi had than moved the bodies from the house and into the street so that her memories of her family home were not tainted with the blood of her family. Eri had the typical Uchiha face but her cheeks were covered with light freckles.

Sasuke simply gave Naruto a nod of acknowledgement but Eri gave a shy wave in greeting. She avoided eye contact and Naruto assumed that his facial scars scared the poor girl.

Hiruzen cleared his throat, "Okay, now that we all know each other let's continue. Naruto, you never explained where Jiraiya took you."

Nodding, Naruto began, "Well over the course of four months, we went to see the ruins of the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides, the village of my mother's clan, the Uzumaki," Though there was nothing of value left, it had been destroyed or taken, Naruto appreciated the thought from his godfather.

"Jiraiya explained that the Uzumaki's were very skilled with sealing jutsu; I than asked Jiraiya to teach me some sealing arts as a way for me to feel closer to my birth mother. I only know the basics now but in time I hope to become a sealer worthy of the name Uzumaki.

"While walking there and back, he trained me in various things. I worked hard on my taijutsu and incorporating the Body Flicker into my fighting style. You already heard the details of the training I went through so I'll tell mum the rest of it later so that I don't waste your time."

Smiling slightly Hiruzen nodded. The trip to Uzo would've been very insightful for Naruto and Hiruzen was glad that Naruto now knew the truth about his parents. Hiruzen was also thankful that Naruto didn't appear to hold a grudge with him by withholding the truth.  _'Even though he has every right to.'_

Making up his mind Hiruzen spoke again, "Okay, I've decided. In a few hours, I shall gather all the jonin at the stadium and have Naruto show what he has learned. Mikoto, you and the kids are welcome to join us. This won't be open to the public but it will give me a good idea as to how strong Naruto is. Use this time to catch up. I'll see you then."

xXx

Walking down the street, Eri shyly glanced up to her left, looking at Naruto again. It was the third time she had done so but she couldn't help it. He did look scary, with those long scars running down his face but she was curious enough to not let that stop her. Mikoto had spoken about Naruto to both Eri and Sasuke and Eri knew that Naruto would come to live in Mikoto's house with them. Eri didn't know what to think of that, Eri enjoyed being in the house with Mikoto. She reminded Eri of her own mum and Eri was scared that Mikoto would pay less attention to her now. Even so, she kept looking. Naruto had blonde hair but it was different to all the other blonde hair in the village. Eri was also fascinated by the whisker marks on Naruto's face, how did someone get whiskers?  _'AND WHAT IS WITH HIS WHISPERING!?'_

As she accidently started staring, Naruto suddenly glanced at Eri and he caught her looking. Startled Eri quickly looked at the ground in embarrassment Eri missed the amused look cross Naruto's face. "Hey Eri," Naruto's voice calling her name made Eri look up again, "It's been a long time since I was in the village. Can you tell me if Ichiraku's Ramen is still open? I can't remember much from before I was taken but I remember that they had the best ramen in the village."

Eri's eyes lit up. "Do you like ramen to? It's the best food in the world! I would eat it for every meal but Mikoto won't let me." At that, Eri pouted just a little bit. However, Eri's enthusiasm for ramen couldn't be contained for long and she starting speaking again, "And yeah, Ichiraku's is open. I love eating there, Ayame is so nice, and she gave a free bowl yesterday."

Mikoto smiled as an idea popped up in her head. Turning around to face the kids behind her she asked, "Well its lunchtime. How about we all go to Ichiraku's to eat?" Her question was greeted by a happy squeal from Eri, an amused smirk from Naruto followed by a nod and Sasuke merely nodding as he avoided the conversation.

"Okay guys, let's go get lunch," Mikoto said, turning to the front again and walking in the direction to the ramen store. Her eye fell a bit as she noticed Sasuke avoiding interaction with Naruto. Naruto didn't seem at all phased by this but Eri seemed to have noticed since she kept up a stream of questions to keep Naruto's attention.  _'Or maybe she didn't notice and is just that curious.'_

Smiling again, Mikoto thought,  _'Well they only just met, there's still plenty of time for my boys to get to know each other.'_

xXx

Kakashi Hatake was eagerly awaiting the coming demonstration. Naruto had been recovered and brought back to the village. Kakashi had always hoped that Naruto had survived whatever had happened to him. Kakashi had failed his sensei, Minato by letting Naruto suffer. Guilt that he had been able to look passed started to smother him.

Kakashi had been forced to look at himself and he had not liked what he saw. He had been selfish; selfish enough to wallow in his own grief and not protect a young boy that he saw as his honorary 'nephew'. Disgust flooded through him when he made that realisation and he had taken steps to improve himself. He forced himself to speak to Inoichi about his experiences in the war and found to his surprise that, after a few sessions, he started waking up in the morning with more energy. He also tried to interact with his few friends more and been touched when they welcomed his efforts to move on with open arms. Leaving ANBU had also been the smartest decision he had ever made although he could do without the Hokage trying to foist a genin team on him all the time.

Kakashi was still horribly late for unimportant meetings however. It was the only way Kakashi allowed himself to cling to the past. It was such a big part of who Obito had been. It had nothing to do with the fact that Kakashi enjoyed annoying the crap out of his colleagues,  _nope_  nothing to do with that at all.

The Hokage, with Naruto standing behind him and to the right, appeared in the grounds in the middle of the stadium with a Body Flicker. Kakashi idly noticed that Naruto was wearing sunglasses. "Good afternoon, today you will observe Naruto Uzumaki. He has been found and brought back and you will help gauge the level of his skills. Without further ado, let's get this started. Guy! You get to spar with Naruto, remember it's about seeing what Naruto can do."

With that, Might Guy jumped from his seat and into the arena. Facing Naruto with a toothy smile he said, "Yes, Naruto let your fires of youth burn!"

As the Hokage called for the spar to begin, Naruto was thinking.  _'Those words sound familiar, where have I heard them? Wait, Might Guy? That's the guy Kaito wanted me to pass on his last words to.'_

Looking over at Guy Naruto began in his stage whisper, "Guy, I have a message for you from Kaito. Did you want to hear it now or later?"

This stopped Guy in surprise. He was anxious to hear from his friend but it was a private affair. He decided to ask Naruto to speak to him later. As Guy had paused to think Naruto sprung into action. Using a Body Flicker, Naruto appeared behind Guy and performed a powerful roundhouse kick with his right leg. Guy back flipped and avoided the kick, he then jumped away to create some distance from Naruto.

With another rapid Flicker, Naruto appeared in front of Guy and punched but Guy blocked and then jumped away but again Naruto used a Flicker and attacked Guy, this time with a low kick from Guy's left. Blocking the kick Guy was thinking.  _'He just used three body flickers in succession without a hand sign. Incredible but still, I have to get Naruto to show what he can do.'_

With that thought, Guy stood his ground and began defending himself against Naruto's taijutsu. He was surprised at the unique way that Naruto attacked. He saw elements from his own Strong Fist style, Gentle Fist not to mention the Academy style. Guy was impressed at the originality of it but saw that it could be greatly improved.

Guy raised his right arm to block a kick from Naruto and was surprised when he felt one of his chakra points get blocked.  _'Amazing, he incorporated the Gentle Fist with my own style Strong Fist while also covering the Gentle Fist's weaknesses. Naruto has real talent for taijutsu, I have to train this kid!'_

Suddenly, all of Guy's instincts told him to dodge not block so he moved to his right. The palm thrust that Guy had been about to block, had fire gush out of Naruto's palm for a good ten meters or so. Naruto turned to hit Guy with the flame and Guy jumped away, his vision of Naruto being obscured for a second.

Landing, Guy decided to launch forward with a kick. As the kick connected, the colour seemed to drain from Naruto and his previously solid body liquefied into oil. As thick oil drenched him, Guy realised that he had kicked a clone made out of oil. Guy then heard Naruto whisper, "Fire Release: Grand Fireball." and was forced to act.

Guy used a Substitution and managed to avoid the fire ball. Even as the remaining oil burned Guy prepared for another attack. However Naruto had stopped and raised his hand. "I think that's all Guy Sensei. Since you are too fast I won't catch you and that's pretty much all my tricks. What do you think?"

Guy wasn't convinced but he went along with it. Naruto had some stuff still hidden up his sleeve but Guy wasn't going to push the issue. Instead he lifted his right hand up and flashed Naruto a winky grin, with his thumbs up.

"Good work Naruto. You definitely have talent. Your unique fighting style is very effective; I wasn't expecting a Gentle Fist attack from a kick, good thinking. Are you satisfied Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen nodded while thinking,  _'Naruto didn't show everything that he was taught. Although I understand Jiraiya's reasoning, even with what Naruto just did I bet he has gained Danzo's attention. This won't help but I need to show my ninja that Naruto is both valuable and too high profile to be taken away by Danzo.'_

Hiruzen had smirked a little, asking Naruto to remove his sunglasses and a low gasp sounded throughout the stands. Guy felt his eyes narrow slightly,  _'So Naruto has the Byakugan and the Sharingan? That explains how he managed to follow my movements even while his back was turned. His potential was already high but this makes it far higher than even Neji.'_

xXx

Kakashi knocked on the door that leads to the Hokage's office. The demonstration had just ended and everyone was still talking about Naruto and the fact that he had two different Bloodlines. When the call to enter came, Kakashi stepped through into the office, clicking the door closed behind him.

"Sir, I'll get right to the point. I want Naruto to be placed on my genin team."

Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork and chuckled. "You know you are the third jonin to come to me and make that request. Guy asked me before I could leave the stadium and Asuma asked just before you arrived. Well, tell me your reasons why I should let you teach Naruto."

Taking a moment to think, Kakashi started, "Most importantly, he is Minato sensei's son. I really want the chance to teach Minato's ways to Naruto and I owe it to Minato. I failed to protect his son when he couldn't; I want to make amends for that. Secondly, we both have the Sharingan in one eye. I have the experience to train him with the Sharingan not to mention that I can help him when he isn't using it, losing your depth perception is pretty tough. With Mikoto using all her time trying to manage her clan, the only other Sharingan ninja is me. And finally, Naruto has real talent, we all saw it. I believe if you let a different jonin teach him, Naruto won't be able to reach his full potential."

Clasping his hands together on top of his desk, Hiruzen decided to humour Kakashi a little, "Let's say I let you pick your genin team, who would you pick?"

"Well I would pick Naruto, probably Sasuke so I can also train him with the Sharingan and I don't really have a preference for the third spot. All I do know is that I intend to train my new genin team into the ground and turn them into the new Legendary Three."

There was a brief silence as Hiruzen thought upon Kakashi's answer. "You want a team with Naruto, the most targeted boy in our village and Sasuke one of the few remaining Uchiha left? That will paint a massive target on the backs of your team. Don't forget, Iwa still holds a large grudge against Minato and by proxy Naruto.

"I am inclined to give you your team but only if you yourself start training harder. You are a dangerous ninja Kakashi but there is always room for improvement. Unless I miss my guess, Naruto will probably spend some time with Guy for training this year before he graduates. I want you to also train with Guy, this way you get to spend time with Naruto while polishing your skills. I need you better than you are Kakashi, especially if I entrust not only the son of Minato but our Demon Container as well to your care. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly sir and thank you for this, you won't regret it." Kakashi then used a Body Flicker to leave the Hokage's office while in high spirits.

xXx

Naruto was on the training grounds located in the Uchiha district. Sitting in the shadow of a big tree was Eri watching him with interest. Though she didn't know it, Sasuke was watching as well, hidden behind a different tree. Naruto had known that Sasuke was there when he turned his Byakugan on and off in rapid succession for training but he called Sasuke over with his stage whisper.

"Hey Sasuke, come out. Did you want to train as well?"

As the stoic boy approached Naruto, annoyance crossed Sasuke's face. "Mother said that she gave you her eye but I don't know why. You are not one of our clan but now you get this big opportunity to use the power that other people have wanted for years. Why are you so special?"

Naruto kept his own face blank as he replied, "I'm not special. Mum decided to give me her eye and she wouldn't take no for an answer. Now back to my first question, did you want to train?"

Sasuke felt conflicted. He didn't really like Naruto, he was a stranger but Sasuke also knew that Naruto was strong and Sasuke needed to get stronger to kill Itachi. Making up his mind, Sasuke settled into his fighting stance.

Naruto paused, "Wait, why don't you activate your Sharingan?"

Sasuke fought to keep the grimace from his face, "I haven't unlocked it yet."

Naruto saw a chance to help Sasuke here. While he was mostly indifferent to Sasuke, he knew that Mikoto would love it if they would get along. Combined with his memories from Itachi, Naruto felt an almost brotherly need to help.  _'Damn it Itachi,'_  Drawing on his memories again, Naruto began coaching Sasuke.

"The Sharingan is unlocked when one feels a powerful emotion such as hatred or disappointment in oneself. Think about such times in your past when you have felt intense hatred while channelling chakra into your eyes."

Naruto watched as Sasuke focused. He had been warned earlier by Mikoto that he couldn't reveal the truth behind Itachi's actions but it was hard keeping it a secret. Naruto could see the hatred that Sasuke had for his brother and knowing that it was unjustified greatly annoyed Naruto.

Sasuke was reflecting upon the night he had stumbled into his house and saw his brother standing over the corpse of his father. He focused on the hate as well as the disgust at his own weakness. A slight tingling could be felt in his eyes and Sasuke channelled chakra to them. All of a sudden, the world became far sharper. Looking at Naruto for confirmation, who nodded, Sasuke felt a small smile grace his features.  _'Okay, maybe Naruto isn't so annoying after all.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The memory Kurama showed Naruto is straight from the manga and anime. You can youtube 'Kushina and Minato death' and find the scene in question. 
> 
> What did you think of the chapter? 
> 
> Please review, I live for constructive criticism.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

Hiashi Hyuga was annoyed. The clan elders were desperate to recover the source of their status and wanted Naruto to give his Byakugan back or have the Caged Bird seal placed on his forehead to ensure that it wouldn't fall into enemy hands. They had not spoken about anything else in the week since Naruto's return and it didn't matter what Hiashi said, they wouldn't relent. Even now, they were bickering about it in the clan's council chambers while Hiashi sat in his study.

His thoughts flowed back to his first meeting with Naruto. Hiashi had been surprised to see the eleven year old boy bearing horrific scars on his face. He had loved his baby sister more than he was ever willing to admit. Hiashi's mother had always stressed familial bonds and as the first born, he had managed to delay Hizashi getting the seal placed upon him. The two of them had been close, with Hizashi being grateful that Hiashi wouldn't let the elders get their way. However as soon as Hitomi had been born the elder council had put their foot down, one of his siblings would  _have_ to get the seal and Hiashi had to choose. If he didn't choose, both could get the seal. The elders had no fear of the teenage clan head and were willing to go behind his back to assert their authority.

Hizashi had selflessly volunteered to receive the Caged Bird seal instead of his sister. This step had caused both brothers to resent the Hyuga clan elders but Hiashi felt it as his duty to listen to them. It didn't stop him from wishing them to die when they  _suggested_ that Hizashi take his place at the end of the Hyuga Affair.

Once Hiashi heard from Mikoto that Hitomi had come to love Naruto as a pseudo brother and son, he knew that Naruto was going to keep the Byakugan. No matter what, it had been his sister's final wish and he  _would_ respect it. Naruto had stated himself that he didn't ask Hitomi for her eye, he would never ask her to hurt herself for him. Hiashi respected the inner strength Naruto displayed when he kept a tight leash on his emotions even as he recounted his time at the Pit.

Hiashi was also greatly impressed by the demonstration that Naruto put on at the stadium, his adaptation of Gentle Fist was truly unique. He wanted to get to know the boy that had been taken in as his younger 'brother'. Pending a short note inviting Mikoto and Naruto to lunch the next day, he sent it off to be delivered by a branch family member.

With that done, Hiashi walked to the council chambers to speak to the elders. After entering the room, he saw all four old men sitting on chairs while tea cups sat on the table in front of them. Not giving them a chance to speak, Hiashi began, "Elders, this is something you have to understand. I will not be taking any action against Naruto Uzumaki. In case you haven't noticed, the Hokage himself is interested in his development, what do you think his response would be if the Hyuga clan attacked Naruto or forced the Caged Bird seal on him? The Hokage would be furious and take drastic measures against the entire clan.

"How do you think the other clans would react? The Uchiha have adopted him. The Inuzuka and Aburame clans are quite friendly with Naruto since he knew members of their clan during his imprisonment. After Inoichi saw what Mikoto went through, I would hazard a guess that the Yamanaka clan will be friendly with Naruto as well. The Hyuga do not have the power to fight the Hokage and half the village. Are you all so blind to this fact?! Your inability to adapt to change would've spelt doom for our clan and you are clearly no longer fit to give important advice to help lead our clan."

"Finally, it was the last wish of my sister for Naruto to have her eye and I will respect it. There is nothing you can do about this. The clan elders have been allowed too much say in the direction of our clan but no more. You are no longer the shot callers, I am. This is not a vote, it  _is_  happening."

A deafening silence filled the room when Hiashi finished. Not even bothering to see the elder's reactions, Hiashi went back to his study.  _'That felt good. It was also a long time coming. Constantly trying to get me to seal one of my daughters, Naruto gave me the chance to oust them from power.'_

xXx

Though Sasuke had deigned to join them; Mikoto, Naruto and Eri had turned up at the Hyuga compound for lunch by invitation from its clan leader. As the three of them were led through the place, they saw a low bench meant to be eaten at while kneeling. Cushions littered the floor and the table had various foods upon it. Taking their places, they waited for Hiashi to appear while enjoying the various smells made by their lunch.

After a minute or two, Hiashi walked into the room accompanied by two young girls. "Greetings Mikoto, Naruto and I don't believe I've met you," Hiashi began before resting his gaze upon Eri.

"Oh sorry Hiashi, that's Eri Uchiha, I took her in after the, uh- incident." Mikoto replied hurriedly.

A small smile flashed across Hiashi's face before returning to its usual blankness. "Of course, hello Eri, may I introduce my daughters, my eldest Hinata and my youngest Hanabi."

' _Is it some random tradition for Hyuga's to have the initials HH? Seriously, Hitomi, Hiashi, Hinata and Hanabi?'_ the random thought flashed through Naruto's mind before he could stop it and now he really wanted an answer but manage to restrain himself. Shifting his attention to the eldest daughter Naruto had to fight to keep an even expression. Hinata looked almost exactly the same as Hitomi; the only difference was that Hinata happened to have dark blue hair instead of brown and that Hinata's hair was shorter. Hanabi looked more like her father with brown, straight locks.

In a slightly strained voice that only the adults picked up on, Naruto said, "It's nice to meet you Hinata, and you Hanabi."

After a moment, Mikoto figured out what had troubled Naruto. It was obviously Hinata's appearance, she was strikingly similar to Hitomi but Mikoto didn't know if it was bringing up memories from Naruto's past. Deciding to simply move onto a new subject, Mikoto turned and asked Hiashi, "I must say I was surprised to receive your invitation to lunch Hiashi. The Hyuga clan doesn't generally socialize much with other people, especially the Uchiha. What brought this about?"

Hiashi had arrived at the same conclusion Mikoto had. In response he said, "Well you told me that Hitomi had come to see Naruto as her little brother and I wanted to talk to him. That's all."

What followed was a very pleasant lunch with Hiashi asking questions about how Hitomi was like in the Pit and the things she had taught Naruto. He had been able to see the talent that Naruto possessed and wanted to help cultivate it. Hiashi was pleased to hear that Naruto had a built in self destruct for his donated eyes, he just had to channel the Nine Tail's chakra into them and they were gone.  _'It's a weight off my shoulders and this will also help mollify the elders when I tell them.'_

Hiashi also knew that Hinata had a slight crush on the boy, ever since he had helped her with some bullies barely a few months before he was taken.  _'Naruto clearly takes after Minato in skill. He will probably end up Hokage at some point and maybe I can increase our clans standing. If I train Naruto alongside Hinata, perhaps Naruto will take notice of her and secure our position as the strongest clan when she marries the Hokage.'_

Hiashi knew he was getting ahead of himself but he had an obligation to look to the future. His clansmen looked to him to lead and this was a, admittedly slim, chance to increase his clans standing. A small part of Hiashi also wanted to help his daughter but no-one would ever know that.  _'Perhaps having Naruto around a lot of the time will help give her more confidence.'_

During the discussion, Hanabi and Eri seemed to have become friendly rivals. They were currently in a competition to see who could eat the most sweets but both girls were turning a delicate shade of green.

Hiashi waited for Naruto to take another bite of food before asking his next question. "Well after this talk I can see why Hitomi trusted you with her eye. I would like to offer you the chance to train here; you will be able to learn things about the Byakugan that no-one else will be able to tell you."

Naruto had choked in his rush to answer and Hiashi smirked when Hinata pat Naruto on the back trying to help which was all according to his hastily crafted plan.

"I would be happy to train here Hiashi. I have sworn to become the strongest ninja in the world and I will need all the training I can get!"

Nodding, Hiashi smiled. He had hopefully made the Hyuga's a powerful ally and gained the gratitude of the future Hokage. Not to mention that he was able to help Hinata out was well.  _'Today was a good day. He said that Hitomi had taught him the Heavenly Rotation but nothing more. I can't teach him the Eight Trigrams but I can work on his Gentle Fist.'_

xXx

Naruto was thinking back to what Hiashi had said at the end of their latest training session. "You should know that the Gentle Fist was carefully crafted over generations of Hyuga. We are aware of the limitations of our fighting style but it emphasises our strengths. The Byakugan lets us see in almost every direction but it doesn't increase our reaction time. This means that although we might see an attack from behind it doesn't mean that we will be able to dodge it. This is the main reason why we keep both feet planted, it allows one to push off with either leg in any direction easily, making any evasive action faster.

"Also, since Hyuga are often targeted in fights, we needed to be able to fight multiple opponents at the same time. This is why we use our arms, they move faster than our legs and since we use precision and not force to damage, we don't need to exert ourselves too much. We focus on being stable so that we can turn in any direction while keeping up our defences. Unlike the Uchiha, the Hyuga focus on the forest around us and not the tree in front. All these factors combine beautifully and allow the Hyuga to fight multiple foes in different directions with less difficulty than other ninja. It is why our style is so greatly feared by the other nations."

Hiashi paused before continuing, "Your version of Gentle Fist covers the weakness of being immobile because you have the Sharingan. Since you can react to attacks before they happen, it allows you greater freedom to move. You have been given the greatest Bloodlines of our village and your fighting style will be incredibly dangerous or it will be once you smooth out the kinks. Now remember to practice your Gentle Fist movements to make them more precise."

Naruto was reflecting on ways to improve his own style, which he was thinking about calling Gentle Strike, and was so deeply in thought that he was surprised when he found himself face to face with an angry Hyuga boy. The boy looked to be around Naruto's age and he wore a Leaf headband signifying that he was a ninja. "You don't deserve the Byakugan. You are not a Hyuga and it is your fate to die and have it stolen since you don't have the seal."

Naruto was confused,  _'Who the hell is this guy? I've never met him and he is angry at me for something that I had no say in.'_

In response Naruto whispered, "Who are you? We have not met before but you clearly have a problem with me."

Scowling, the Hyuga boy growled, "I'm Neji Hyuga. I am the son of Hizashi Hyuga and nephew to Hiashi. I'm cursed to carry this Caged Bird seal upon my forehead since my father was born mere seconds after his brother.

"There are two aspects to the Hyuga clan; the main family and the branch houses that serve them. As a precaution, all branch members have the Caged Bird seal placed on them to ensure obedience and the protection of the Byakugan. You are neither but escaped the seal. You have the greatest power of the village but Hiashi gives you preferential treatment due to the fact that you are the son of the Fourth Hokage. Why shouldn't I be angry at you, someone who gets power without cost not to mention that you don't have to live with the fact that any of the main family members can activate the seal and kill any branch member at a moment's notice?"

Naruto was processing what Neji had told him. It was barbaric what the Hyuga clan did to its branch members but Neji had no right to just get angry at Naruto out of the blue. Naruto had never wanted the Byakugan in the first place. One thing that Neji had said stuck in Naruto's mind,  _'Without cost!? Hitomi and all the others died so that I could be here, how dare he!'_ Hinata had mentioned that she had a prodigy for a cousin but Naruto's first impression of Neji was not pleasant.

"For your information, you aunt Hitomi gave me this eye of her own volition. I lost both of my eyes and was blind but Hitomi gave me her eye when I was unconscious with the pain. I would never have asked her to give me her eye, she was my big sister. I can see why you would be angry at the main family, I would be too but I have nothing to do with that. Hiashi never mentioned anything about a Caged Bird seal and it's rude to just assume I got your Bloodline just to spite you Neji."

Neji grunted. Naruto had made some good points but Neji wasn't going to admit that. "It doesn't change the fact that you are destined to do the things fate was decided for you. Just like the course of my life was determined at my birth. I was a member of the branch family and will die serving people I hate. There is no escaping fate."

Though Naruto's face showed no outward emotion, he was getting angry. Neji was talking as if the entire world was against him but it seemed that Neji wasn't going to do anything about it.

Naruto had figured out that nothing he said would calm Neji down or sooth his resentment so he simply said, "Well, let's fight; since I am not a main branch member, you have no obligation to lose to me. I want to see if you have the power to back up your insults."

Neji gave a soft grunt before assuming his Gentle Fist stance. Naruto took off his eye patch and waited for Neji to make the first move. He didn't have to wait long as Neji took several steps forward and thrust out with his right palm. Using just Gentle Fist, Naruto deflected the thrust before he jabbed forward with his left palm. This back and forth continued for several minutes. Neji's Gentle Fist was far crisper than Naruto's but Naruto was able to make up the difference by predicting Neji's movements with his Sharingan. This resulted in a stalemate with the two boys unable to gain an advantage using Gentle Fist, although they continued trading a flurry of blows.

Both of them had come to the same conclusion but Neji stubbornly stuck to his guns, his pride as a Hyuga meant that he wouldn't lower himself to use anything else apart from Gentle Fist. Neji needed to win with Gentle Fist, he had heard talk about the unique style that Naruto had displayed. Guy sensei had been quite eloquent in his praise; this had become a matter of principle to him.

Naruto had no problem with swapping out to his regular style but he didn't. Neji had pissed him off and Naruto wanted to beat the Hyuga prodigy at his own game. Hiashi had given Naruto valuable insight into the workings of Gentle Fist and using this knowledge he did something Naruto hadn't thought of before. Naruto simply took a step towards Neji and passed inside Neji's reach. This was not the norm and managed to throw Neji off enough that Naruto got passed Neji's guard and struck the chakra point near Neji's upper right thigh.

Neji jumped away, trying to recover his breath but Naruto simply chased after him. Naruto managed to get passed Neji's guard again by closing the distance before Neji tried to adapt. Neji started taking steps backward and tried to keep his distance but Neji had played right into Naruto's hands.

It was the most logical step, try and regain the space your opponent invaded but Neji was mentally giving Naruto the advantage, letting Naruto dictate the flow of the fight. Naruto's eyes widened suddenly and he quickly used a Flicker to get away from Neji before Neji started to rotate rapidly, ejecting his chakra out in a blue dome. Naruto knew that Neji would be able see where he was even with the spinning but Neji didn't have the Sharingan. With it, Naruto would be able to see Neji stop his rotation before he actually had and timed his next attack accordingly. Using a Flicker at the exact instant Neji stopped rotating; Naruto used a non chakra enhanced palm thrust and hit Neji in the chest above his heart.

As Neji stumbled back several steps they locked eyes. Both boys knew that Naruto could've killed Neji in that instant but had decided not to.

"If it is your fate to be the unacknowledged genius, a person destined to serve and die, than surely you would have either beaten me or been killed. I  _chose_ to do neither just like you have a choice about how your life turns out."

With that said, Naruto turned and left the Hyuga compound. He had been given some money for lunch and would meet Eri for ramen. Neji for his part walked back to his room. It was true; Naruto had chosen not to kill him.  _'He thinks he can walk away without settling this? I will beat him one day and prove my own skills.'_

With both boys completely focused on the fight, neither had noticed two separate pairs of eyes watching them. Hiashi returned to his study, thinking about how he should deal with Neji. The other ninja leapt from the rooftops of the compound, his face devoid of emotion.  _'Danzo will want to know about this. This Hyuga boy is full of hate, perhaps he would be a good addition to our ranks?'_

xXx

Danzo sat on the chair in front of Hiruzen's desk and frowned. He wasn't normally summoned to see Hiruzen and he wanted to know why he was here. Hiruzen was currently at his desk filling out paperwork and had yet to speak. Danzo was losing patience and opened his mouth to explode when Hiruzen finally looked up. "Ah Danzo, I wish to talk to you about what you managed to dig up about that little problem you found with the barrier team's and their reports."

So that was it. Danzo had spent a long time investigating what had happened and didn't like the results. It seemed that no obvious connections were there but something was clearly joining at least two separate barrier teams since, while they had been on shift, a small opening had appeared while they tried to hide that fact. There was also someone in records who was in on it, since they had marked everything as all clear and only the private reports filed by ANBU said otherwise. It was carefully hidden and even if someone had looked for a problem, only someone with high security access would know that there was an issue. Danzo thought about how much he would tell Hiruzen.

"Well it was cleverly hidden. I doubt anyone but I could have found it. There are at least three traitors in our ranks. There has to be at least one traitor in two of our barrier teams and a member of the records office. Their goals and motivations are unclear but I recommend you place an ANBU tail on all the barrier teams for observation."

Danzo mentally smirked.  _'There, he gets his information and Hiruzen will pick his most trusted ANBU for this job. He spreads his forces thin while I have the power of ROOT waiting in the shadows. I just have to wait for the right time to strike.'_

Hiruzen nodded. It was a good suggestion but Hiruzen was trying to see the meaning underneath Danzo's words. All these schemes and plots were aging him at an accelerated pace. He was shaken from his train of thought when Danzo asked, "Hiruzen, why did you make the Uzumaki kid an academy student? He is clearly strong for his age; he is even approaching the strength of a chunin at the age of eleven. His skill needs to be sharpened and from what I have gathered, the brat already has killer instincts. He could be the next legend of our village if you let me train him."

Hiruzen managed to stop himself from sighing. It could be taken as a sign of weakness and Hiruzen couldn't let Danzo see that. "Naruto is strong yes but he is a child. Eleven years old is far too young to be a chunin given that we are not at war. Think about the many child geniuses our village has: Kakashi is haunted by the past and unable to move on. Orochimaru turned out to be psychotic and experimented on children. Itachi snaps and kills his clan, hell; even Minato was a little messed up. All this pressure that we place on our young prodigies makes fine ninja yes but they all suffered for it. I will not do that to Naruto, not after everything he has been through. This village is meant to be a safe haven for him, not the place where we turned him into a soulless killing machine.

"Naruto needs to make connections, friendships. You don't understand Danzo, what that boy went through changed him. Protecting himself and his friends is the  _single_  most important aspect of his personality. If I threatened Mikoto for example, I don't doubt that Naruto would find it easy to attack me with killing intent. Making him an ANBU will only be counter-productive, he won't make connections and his mental stability might snap and send him on a rampage. Can you imagine the damage a genius like Minato with the chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox would cause? This village would be destroyed. That is why I made him an academy student. Let him be a kid, make friends and I assure you, his loyalty will never stray."

That gave Danzo pause, true they both knew Itachi hadn't really snapped but that had been said for the benefit of the ANBU on guard. Everything else Hiruzen had said was true. Kakashi had been a head case before he tried to improve himself, Orochimaru held such promise but couldn't resist his baser instincts and Minato did indeed have his own 'unique' quirks. You don't walk away from killing a thousand enemies on the battlefield without it bothering you. Danzo wasn't content to simply let Naruto slip through his fingers but he wasn't going to press it any further with Hiruzen.

Not bothering to say farewell, Danzo left the office. Hiruzen watched him leave with narrowed eyes.  _'I think he is planning another assassination attempt which is why he suggested I use MY personal ANBU to follow the barrier teams. Given the fact that he doesn't know which teams are guilty and that there are eight teams on rotation, I assume he wants me to use my trusted men and leaving me more vulnerable. Still, I do need to follow up on this. I will assign three of my ANBU to watch the barrier teams while they are on shift. I can hopefully get results and not weaken my position.'_

xXx

A vicious back handed slap impacted against the left side of Akari's face. While the blow did sting, it was nothing compared to the sting to her pride. She was a fearsome warrior, a former member of the Kinkaku Force; an elite group of S ranked ninja from Cloud that had managed to kill the Second Hokage but even she knew that it would be suicide to fight back.

So she took the blow without retaliation, even though she dearly wanted to slit the throat of the man who had struck her. As she stood there, not moving; her attacker spoke in an even tone.

"You have no idea how angry my employer is Akari. By sheer luck, you managed to capture the offspring of Minato Namikaze and let him slip through your fingers. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Akari looked the man in the eye while thinking furiously. She knew that she would have to choose her words with care; they could possibly be her last.

"I had no idea who he was. He told me his name was Naruto Tanaka. I had no reason to  _not_  believe him. If I had known, or even suspected his real identity, I would've immediately informed Toshiro. I deeply apologise, I cannot excuse my failure."

Silence filled her office as the man walked over to a chair and sat down. During the entire conversation, the man's face had been shrouded in shadow, leaving his identity a mystery. Discreetly using her peripheral vision, Akari took note of the three shinobi that guarded this man, just in case she needed to take action.

Looking back at Akari, the man responded, "You're correct, you can't excuse failure. However, you are fortunate that Toshiro has argued against your termination with vigour. It appears that your joint service still means something to him.

"There are no more excuses though. You are now tasked with retrieving Naruto Uzumaki and return him to the Pit. He is to be captured alive and kept that way. You will not enter him in any more fights but so long as he is alive, your failure to keep him will be... _overlooked._

"Failure to bring him back will result in your termination with extreme prejudice. You know how connected we are, there is no hiding from us. You're lucky enough to not have a time limit on your task; my employer only wants the Uzumaki brat before him alive. I will say however, that the faster you bring the brat back, the more  _lenient_ your punishment will be. Do you understand?"

"I understand. I won't fail you."

A soft chuckle sounded from the man. "Be sure that you don't. Just in case you have forgotten who you are dealing with, here is a reminder."

As he finished speaking, the door to Akari's office swung open and Toshiro Tanahashi was dropped unceremoniously on the ground. His body was covered in bruises and Akari could tell that several of his ribs had been broken. Akari shivered unconsciously; Toshiro was a former captain of the Kinkaku Force, at one point he was one of the strongest jonin of the Hidden Cloud village, only behind the Raikage, Darui and Bee. To see a man of his caliber brought down so low was chilling and Akari was violently reminded about the true  _power_ of her employers, even if she didn't know their real identity.

The man and his bodyguards left her office and Akari quickly checked on her friend and former captain. Akari started standard medical jutsu and after a short while, Toshiro groaned and opened his right eye. The entire left side of his face was too badly bruised and puffed up to allow his left eye to open.

"Toshiro, I probably shouldn't ask but just exactly who is so angry with us? Who could bring an S rank like you to your knees so easily?"

Toshiro tried to answer but stopped as he had to spit out some of his teeth. Starting again he said in a croaky voice, "The one who wants Naruto is Shoma Nakamura, the Daimyo of the Land of Earth. The power he wields completely dwarfs ours; we  _have to_ catch Naruto. Shoma is known in our circles for his penchant for torture. You don't understand, we cannot hide from him, his power is absolute."

xXx

"No not that one, it's far too bright." Jiraiya said as Naruto stepped out of the booth with a full length orange jumpsuit. "We are ninja and we do  _not_ parade around announcing our presence with our clothing. There is an argument that orange blends in better in a crowd since not a lot of people dress in all black. There is also the argument that in autumn, orange is excellent for camouflage but I don't believe that is good enough to be wearing bright colours that draw the eye.

"I would recommend dull colours that blend in. Green, brown and dark blue generally work well."

Naruto had known that the moment he had seen it on the rack of clothing but he couldn't stop himself from at least trying it on. Sure, it was bright and attention grabbing but  _something_ about it had struck a chord with him and he couldn't resist it. Ducking back into the clothing store's booth, Naruto walked back out dressed in loose dark blue pants and a dark blue, long sleeved shirt. Try as he might, Naruto hadn't been able to tear himself away from orange completely and it showed with a belt that had a thin, dark orange strip that was sandwiched by black.

Naruto was glad that it was Jiraiya who had decided to take Naruto shopping to update his look. Just last week he had been subjected to shopping with Mikoto and Eri and had been forced to walk all over the village for several hours. By the end of the day, Naruto's feet had been killing him and he was exhausted. Jiraiya was far more sensible, this was the first clothing store they had entered and it definitely looked to be the last.

Jiraiya nodded in approval. "Yes, that's a far better get up. I know I said it before but with a new year you should have a new look. You know, taking a closer look, your attire reminds me of Minato."

Satisfied, Jiraiya paid for Naruto's new clothes and they both left the shop. Since neither really felt like calling it a day however, the pair simply started walking without paying attention to where they were going. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the top of the Hokage monument and Jiraiya knew it was time to tell Naruto about his decision.

"Naruto, I remember what I said about being there for you and I meant it. You are my godson and I will always do what I can to ensure your happiness," Jiraiya paused and turned to look over the village. He was too afraid of Naruto's reaction to what he was about to say and was unable to look Naruto in the eye.

"However, you know that I am also a ninja. I have a large network of spies and informants who feed me information and none of them are comfortable coming here which means that I have to go back out in the field. Now, remember that we have both signed the Toad Summoning Scroll. With that, you'll be able to contact me whenever you need. Just summon a toad, give it a message and it will be able to relay it to me when I next summon a toad."

A short pause followed when Jiraiya finished speaking. Unable to handle the silence, Jiraiya turned to Naruto and was momentarily surprised to find himself locking eyes with his godson.

"It's okay Jiraiya. You have been honest with me and that means more to me than you know. I noticed that you easily suffer from boredom; I guessed that you would go back out in time. Don't worry, if I need you I will call."

Crouching down so that he was eye level with Naruto, Jiraiya spoke again, "I'm glad that you can see that Naruto. The village may need me but you will  _always_ be my top priority."

With both of them content to leave to conversation at that, they simply sat down atop the head of the Fourth Hokage and watch the beautiful colours of the setting sun.

xXx

The new year of the academy had started three months ago and Sakura Haruno was no closer to unraveling the mystery that was Naruto Uzumaki. Three months of questions and subtle glances but she hadn't managed to gain any information about him that he hadn't already shared with the class.

Sure, he wasn't quite as cute as Sasuke but there was  _something_ about Naruto that appealed to her. He had a strength that no-one else in the class had. While Naruto did look scary, especially with his scars and eye patch, he was not only mysterious but polite as well. Although he was one of the quietest people in the class, Naruto was never short with anyone; this gave him a lot of points in Sakura's book. Sasuke mainly ignored the others and even though Kiba wasn't quite was cute the other two, he was far too loud for her taste.

Her desperation to find out more about the blonde enigma led her to sneak around the village following Naruto. She was often accompanied by Ino; they had managed to form a truce due to the simple fact that there were two boys who happened to be the subject of their affections. This meant that both could get a boyfriend and Sakura had been happy to have her best friend back.

The only real thing she had learned about Naruto was that he was crazy about training. Every weekend he would head off to training ground nine and train with a man Sakura had overheard to be Might Guy. He was often joined by Sasuke and generally the boys of Guy's team became more competitive when her crushes turned up to train. That white haired man who always read Icha Icha in public was there as well but Sakura never managed to summon the courage to go over and talk to them.

This day proved to be no different as she watched Naruto and a boy who looked just like Might Guy spar while hidden behind a tree. Ino had had to go home for her own clan's training but Sakura didn't mind. This just meant that she had more time with both Sasuke and Naruto.

As Naruto's spar ended with Naruto winning, Sakura turned her attention back to Sasuke. He was sparring with the other boy on Guy's team and it looked very close. The look of concentration on Sasuke's face was captivating and she was taken completely by surprise when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Jumping slightly, Sakura turned and saw Naruto standing behind her. A whirlwind of butterflies flew around in her stomach but before she could say anything Naruto started whispering.

"Sakura, I know you have been following me. I must ask you to stop, it is rather annoying. I'm sorry to say but I have no interest in finding a girlfriend, at least at the moment. My only goal right now is to become strong; strong enough to protect the people I care about from death. Maybe when I'm older I will change my mind but for now, I won't. Sasuke ignores all the attention but he is of the same mindset.

"We are both driven to become the best ninja we can possibly be. I'm sorry, it is not my intent to hurt you but I think you should know this. I hoped that if I didn't encourage you that maybe you would get over your crush in time but I think it's time to tell you this."

The butterflies in her stomach had turned into lead and Sakura felt her shoulders sag.  _'Naruto has no interest in me. He doesn't want a girlfriend.'_ As tears threatened to spill, Sakura turned and fled towards her home.

Naruto watched Sakura go with mixed feelings. He had asked his mum about Sakura's behaviour and discovered not only what a crush was but that Sakura probably had feelings for him. He had meant what he said; he didn't want to hurt Sakura but didn't know how to handle the situation. He could've been like Sasuke and ignored her but a childhood of conditioning to react with politeness in every situation stopped him.

It was another two weeks before Mikoto had told Naruto to tell Sakura the truth about the lack of his reciprocation for Sakura's affection. It was, apparently, the best way to handle things and even if Sakura's feelings did get hurt, she would appreciate it in time.

Sighing, Naruto returned to his training.  _'I have to force Lee passed his limits. I can sense that he has real strength but he is hiding it. I can't get stronger unless I fight him at his best.'_

xXx

Sakura was brooding. It had been a week since her talk with Naruto but it may as well have been the end of the world. Her work in the academy had suffered and her marks had fallen but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

Sakura was currently walking down the market stalls when she accidently bumped into a stranger. "Oh sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The person Sakura had bumped into turned around and Sakura was face to face with Mikoto Uchiha. As Mikoto smiled she replied, "Oh its okay, accidents happen. Say, are you Sakura Haruno? Naruto said that you had pink hair. I'm Mikoto."

As Sakura shook Mikoto's hand, a question burst forth from her lips before she could stop it. "Do you know why Naruto doesn't like me?"

A kind expression graced Mikoto's face as she answered. "Sakura, it's not that he doesn't like you it's just that Naruto's focused on different things right now. Naruto wants to become as strong as he possibly can so that he can protect his loved ones.

"I hope you don't mind my saying this but your worth is not measured by how beautiful you are. Nor by how handsome or important your future husband may be. Both of my boys have been forced to grow up faster than normal and they don't really pay much heed to the problems of ordinary kids.

"You should focus on yourself and enjoying life. There is plenty of time to look for love when you are older. You have a lot of potential Sakura and the only way is forward."

Mikoto knew all about Sakura. Naruto had talked about the girl at length while describing her annoying habits. While Mikoto was happy that a girl was displaying an interest in her boy she knew that wasn't enough to gain Naruto's attention. Mikoto had seen her share of shallow civilian women who only cared about the popularity or prestige of their ninja husbands. If she could sway Sakura off that path while also helping her to become strong in her own right, Mikoto would do just that.

Sakura took Mikoto's words to heart and she found a new found determination.  _'I will become so strong that both of them will be begging me to date them!'_

xXx

Naruto had noticed the change in Sakura over the past fortnight. She diligently trained and her progress was impressive.  _'Although the progress of someone was weak as she was would appear to be incredible to anyone else.'_

Naruto wasn't sure what had sparked her change of heart but he welcomed the change. Sakura no longer glanced at him throughout the day, something which Naruto hadn't failed to notice. He was however, reluctant to comment on her advancement since he didn't know the extent of her new found resolve.

Naruto decided to adopt a wait and see policy when it came to his classmate. Casting his thoughts over the rest of his class, Naruto began thinking of the qualities that he like most about them.

Shikamaru was similar to Naruto. Both were very smart and quiet but Shikamaru was quite lazy. The most effort Shikamaru would put in during class would be in Shogi while versing Naruto. Although Naruto hadn't managed to beat the Nara, it was an excellent thinking exercise.

Choji was usually in the company of Shikamaru but didn't really bother Naruto. Choji was a kind person and liked that Naruto didn't seem to care about his weight. They didn't really talk much but both knew that they were friends.

Ino was similar to the old Sakura. She was always trying to get Naruto's attention. Naruto didn't really appreciate her efforts but he always remained polite. She was generally nice when she wasn't trying to get someone's attention though.

Kiba was fun to be around even if he happened to be the loudest person in the room. Kiba had taken it upon himself to be Naruto's friend ever since his mother, Tsume, had told Kiba that his uncle, Koba had died to protect Naruto. Since the Inuzuka clan valued loyalty and possessed a slight pack mentality, Kiba had introduced himself to Naruto on the first day and also proclaimed him as his rival.

Hinata was quite nice to be around. She was quiet all the time but she seemed to be getting better as the year went by. Perhaps it was because Naruto spoke to her a lot and she was forced to either ignore him or answer. Naruto, after being told what a crush was, managed to figure out that Hinata also appeared to have feelings for him. Naruto didn't really know how to approach the situation.

Even if he had only spoken a handle of words to him, Naruto decided that Shino was his friend. He was very similar to Muta; in personality and behaviour. With his experiences in the Pit, Naruto had developed a slight sense for the skill of someone and although Shino never showed off, he was definitely one of the strongest in the class.

None of the other kids in class struck any kind chord with Naruto. If he got to pick, Naruto wanted Sasuke and Shino on his squad. Both were quiet but among the strongest in the class. With their different skill sets, all three could push each other to get stronger.

xXx

Danzo sat in his underground office located in the ROOT headquarters. He was mulling over the information that one of his agents had just told him.  _'So, the young Hyuga genius hates his clan? How can I entice him to join? I will need to think of a way around his Caged Bird seal, it would be a waste of time to train him to an acceptable level only for him to get killed by Hiashi for desertion.'_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Naruto. But you should support the official release!

Might Guy was standing to the side of the training ground, observing Naruto and Lee sparring yet again. Guy knew that Naruto had guessed that Lee was stronger than then he was showing and Naruto was determined to push Lee over the limit and showcase his real skill.

Guy respected Naruto's drive to improve himself; it was his most impressive trait. Talent without determination resulted in arrogance and intelligence without drive, laziness but Naruto was surprisingly modest.

The maturity and skill Naruto displayed ever since his return had endeared the majority of jonin in the village and all of the senseis wanted Naruto on their team. Guy knew that he personally couldn't do this since he already had a genin team but Guy enjoyed training Naruto anyway.

Part of it was the aptitude Naruto had for taijutsu but it was largely due to the fact that Kaito had used his last words to encourage his friend to become as strong as possible. A wistful look crossed Guy's face as he remembered the gruff man who had once been his best friend.

Kaito had been there for Guy during the period of mourning that resulted when Guy's father, Might Duy sacrificed himself to protect his son. Although Kakashi was his eternal rival, Kaito was the only person to  _ever_ best Guy in a push up competition. Naruto didn't know it but he had earned Guy's ceaseless gratitude for delivering Kaito's final message.

"Naruto still wants' Lee to show his talent huh?"

Turning to face his left, Guy saw Kakashi standing there. "Yes, Naruto won't rest until he gets to see  _something_ that Lee is hiding," Making up his mind, Guy raised his voice and called out, "Lee, Take them off! I know what I said earlier but this is an exception; show Naruto the power of your youth!"

An excited smile plastered itself across Lee's face and he hurriedly sat down and pulled up his orange leg warmers. Naruto saw that Lee was wearing leg weights.

' _Is this it? How much faster can he be? In terms of physical speed Lee is faster than I am already.'_

Lee held both sets of weights in his hands as he stood up and dropped them to the ground. A colossal thump sounded and a large dust cloud formed. Shock tore through Naruto,  _'What the hell!? How much weight was he wearing?!'_

Kurama didn't even bother trying to answer Naruto. He simply laughed and made sure to broadcast it to Naruto. As the sound of Kurama's amusement echoed throughout Naruto's head, a twitch of Lee's legs was the only warning Naruto got before Lee blurred out of sight. A slight sense of something appeared in his vision but Naruto was unable to react in time and was punched square on his right arm. Naruto managed to stay on his feet but the impact forced his feet to slide along the ground for several metres.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto channelled more chakra into both of his eyes and focused. The fully matured Sharingan was able to follow Lee's movements but Naruto's reflexes weren't fast enough to keep up. Knowing that Lee would soon be upon him again, Naruto began his Heavenly Rotation and the swirling chakra kept Lee at bay. As he kept up his defence, Naruto was thinking furiously.

' _I can't keep up with his speed even though I can see where he is. How do I fight this? Wait, I'm fighting on his terms. I need to change the pattern. Lee is fast but can't use the Body Flicker. If I constantly use my Flicker, I won't need to react to his strikes but try to predict where he will be next. I have to think two steps ahead. Once my Sharingan tells me Lee's next position, I have to guess where Lee will be next and use a Flicker to catch him off guard.'_

Deciding on his game plan, Naruto used a Flicker and 'teleported' to the space behind Lee. Lee reacted and blurred again but the instant Naruto had landed, he used another Flicker. The Sharingan told Naruto that Lee would move to a spot on his left so Naruto guessed that Lee would take another step forward to strike him. Therefore, Naruto's second Flicker moved him to the spot that his Sharingan told Naruto Lee would next occupy. As he did that, Lee would move forward and Naruto would be able to strike at Lee's back.

While it was a good guess, Lee didn't move as predicted and appeared in the spot that would've been on Naruto's right before Naruto used his second Flicker. The result was that in the span of about a second, Naruto used both of his Flickers; both boys had moved positions in response to the other and ended up punching each other in the face at the same time.

As they both staggered back they locked eyes. Both blurred out of sight again. What followed was  _essentially,_  a high paced game of tag. Both Lee and Naruto pushed themselves to go faster but neither managed to gain an advantage. Lee figured out pretty quickly that Naruto was trying to predict his movements and started to move unpredictably. Naruto in response, starting trying to Flicker even faster while following his gut instincts and hoped that he would be able to hit the randomly moving Lee.

After quite some time, Lee started to slow down. While his stamina was very high, it was nothing compared to the chakra reserves that Kurama boasted. Eventually Naruto managed to land a Gentle Fist hit on Lee's right leg and the fight was over.

As both boys sat down, Lee panted for breath as Naruto nursed a headache that had been brought on by over use of his eyes. Though normally a transplanted eye didn't cause headaches, it was the simple fact that Naruto's brain wasn't truly adapted to see the world like in all directions since he didn't have the Hyuga genes or body. Not to mention the difficulty of trying to focus on something that was too fast to see. With the sheer amount of information that his eyes fed him, Naruto knew that he needed more training to adapt his body better in the use of his eyes.

As Naruto put his eye patch back on, clapping could be heard and Lee and Naruto looked over to see both Kakashi and Guy applauding their efforts.

As the two men walked over Kakashi looked at Naruto and said, "Naruto, your use of the Body Flicker is impressive. There are not many people willing to use it the way you do but I am reminded of Shisui Uchiha. He was very talented and become renowned as 'Shisui of the Body Flicker'. He managed to take the Body Flicker to a level that no-one else had thought of but I won't tell you how he did it. I will give you this hint however, using the Body Flicker the way you do, you will never compare to Shisui's agility.

"Although there are faster people than Shisui, not many people could out manoeuvre him. Think about it."

Guy then spoke to Lee, "That was excellent Lee! I think that is the first time you fought against a person who could match your speed. While Neji's reflexes enable him to react to your speed, this time you found yourself in a contest of swiftness. It was good thinking when you moved randomly to try and offset Naruto from predicting your movements.

"Both of you had a good match. I want you two to think over the spar and see if you can think of ways that you may have been able to end it sooner."

With those final words, the training session was called to an end. Naruto headed back towards the Uchiha district, Mikoto had said that she was preparing sushi for lunch.

xXx

Kakashi Hatake was in a serious dilemma. He needed to make a decision but he couldn't make up his mind. The gravity of the situation weighed on his shoulders and a feeling of gloom could be felt in the air. Looking around at the shelves surrounding him, one singular thought reverberated in his thoughts,  _'I am truly terrible at choosing gifts.'_

Naruto's twelfth birthday was coming up and he still hadn't been able to pick a gift for his honorary nephew.  _'I need to hurry up though, Mikoto's secretly planned birthday party happens tomorrow.'_

Kakashi had been touched when he received the invitation. Although Naruto listened to Guy more in training, Naruto had respected Kakashi's skill enough to listen to what Kakashi had to say. Even now, Naruto was still trying to figure out the secret to Shisui's Body Flicker.

He was broken from his musing when a voice cut in. "Still looking for a present Kakashi? Wow, Kurenai was right, you do suck at this."

A tinkling laugh could be heard as he turned around and saw Mikoto standing there, laughing at his apparent lack of talent in gift giving. A hint of defensiveness entered Kakashi's voice as he responded, "Hey, it's not that easy shopping for a twelve year old. I am completely out of my depth here. You have any ideas for me?"

The right side of Mikoto's mouth quirked upwards in thought. "Well, Naruto is not your average kid so don't bother picking something from here." She gestured around at the shelves which held an assortment of toys. "Surely a prodigy of your intellect would've managed to figure that out at least?"

An amused sound could be heard before Kakashi replied, "Well yeah but... when I was twelve I would've loved something from here however a recently promoted jonin has an image to uphold. I can't help but compare myself a little to him."

Mikoto's face softened. She hadn't known that, sure she knew that Kakashi had had a rough childhood, what with being an orphan and finding the body of his father. However, she would've never guessed that young Kakashi wanted a simple toy, he was always so serious. In spite of the gravity of the conversation, Mikoto filed that titbit of information away, just in case she wanted to embarrass Kakashi.

Kakashi had closed his visible eye in annoyance. Why had that slipped out? Sure, Inoichi had encouraged him to speak more about his past but this was a little outside of his comfort zone.  _'Curse that Yamanaka and his stupid therapy. Next thing you know I'll be reciting poetry.'_

Hoping that Mikoto would let it go, Kakashi opened his eye again. He saw a soft expression on her face and he grimaced. Nope, no such luck there.

Trying to salvage to conversation, Mikoto spoke again, "Well, Naruto doesn't really store much value in the material world. He values family and friends above everything else. Maybe that will help you make a decision. This kind of thing won't resonate with Naruto at all." She had picked up a wooden eagle as an example.

Kakashi nodded. He had just had a brainwave and now knew what he was going to give Naruto. "Thanks Mikoto, you just gave me a great idea. See ya tomorrow."

xXx

Sasuke had spent a large part of the last hour looking for Naruto without success. Sasuke knew that his mum had organised a surprise party for Naruto and it was due to start soon however Naruto had woken up early and no-one had seen him today.

Sasuke was still unsure how he felt about Naruto. On one hand, Naruto never bothered him about Itachi or how it made Sasuke feel and Sasuke really appreciated that. However, Naruto had also turned up and completely outclassed Sasuke in terms of strength. The fact that Naruto was now his friend only served to complicate matters; Sasuke didn't know how to deal with his feelings of jealousy.

His musing was broken when he spied Naruto. He was standing before the War Memorial Stone and looked to be in deep thought. Naruto turned when he heard Sasuke's footsteps approaching.

"Morning. How's things?"

Though Naruto's voice sounded normal Sasuke knew better. It was the exact same tone he used when he reassured people that he was fine.

"Good. Mum sent me to find you, lunch almost ready."

Nodding, Naruto turned back to the stone before replying, "Alright, just give me a minute."

Following Naruto's gaze Sasuke saw that Naruto was reading the names 'Kushina Uzumaki' and 'Minato Namikaze'. Understanding blazed in Sasuke's mind but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to and so the two boys stood side by side for several minutes as they both contemplated the past.

xXx

Mikoto's cheeks were sore from all the smiling she had been doing but she couldn't help it. Naruto had no idea about the party and the look of shock on his face had been priceless. She was so happy that she had entrusted the camera to Hiashi, she would never have been able to take the picture of Naruto's reaction because she had been laughing too much.

The party was going well and Naruto was having fun. Although he maintained his stoic face, Mikoto felt that she could generally read Naruto's mood fairly well, most of the time and she knew that Naruto would treasure the memory of his first,  _real_ birthday party.

Naruto started on his pile of gifts by opening Mikoto's first. It was a handmade necklace. Woven with black, orange and yellow thread and a small silver pendant dangled at the bottom. It had the Uzumaki whirlpool on one side and the Uchiha crest on the other. Mikoto had made it with Eri, who was watching Naruto with big eyes. Naruto immediately put it on as Eri explained that the colours represented the hair of his parents. A slight smile was his only response but Eri knew that it meant a lot to her big brother.

Naruto next grabbed a plain old shoebox with one ribbon tied around it half heartedly. As Kakashi announced that was his gift, Asuma punched him lightly on the arm. "Really, a shoebox Kakashi? You're better than that."

"What? He won't care about the box, just the present." That was such a typical Kakashi answer that Asuma punched him again.

By this time Naruto had opened the box and pulled out a unique kunai. It had three prongs and a strange looking seal was written on the handle. A handful of people gasped as they recognised what it was.

"That kunai was designed and used by your father Naruto. It allowed him to master the Flying Thunder God technique and it almost single handily won us the Third Shinobi War. Maybe you'll be able to unlock its secrets and surpass him."

The emotion generated by the gift was really getting to Naruto. He was struggling to keep his composure but it was a real fight. A heartfelt 'thank you' was all Kakashi got but everyone could see that it meant a great deal to Naruto.

Still trying to come to terms with his happiness, Naruto opened his next present. It looked like it was clothing and Naruto pulled it out to reveal a green, spandex suit. In the box were some training weights and orange leg warmers. Naruto was looked down at the green monstrosity in his hands before Naruto looked up at Guy. Naruto looked back at the suit then back at Guy before whispering, "Uh...thanks?"

Everyone laughed and the emotional atmosphere from before was forgotten. Sasuke entered the backyard leading Kiba and his mother Tsume to the party. Kiba appeared to be holding puppy and marched over to Naruto with gusto, Akamaru wobbling slightly on top of his head.

"Hey Naruto, how's it going? This little guy was born deaf in one ear so he can't be trained to be a nin-dog. Mum seemed to think that you might like to have him. What do you think?"

Naruto lifted the small puppy to eye level. It was small but full of energy and eagerly tried to lick his face. He had soft black fur and bright blue eyes and always seemed to tilt his head to one side. Beside him, Eri was literally shaking in excitement and kept trying to take the puppy into her arms.

"Thanks Kiba and thank you Mrs Inuzuka. This is a great gift. What should I call him?"

As random names were called out Eri stamped on Naruto's foot and as he hobbled in pain, she managed to pry the puppy away from Naruto. Plonking herself on the ground, she began to play with the puppy.

Naruto's own suggestion of 'Dog' for a name was shot down instantly. Sasuke's idea of 'Ripper' got some nods from his classmates before Sakura suggested the name 'Ramen' before smiling and asked if Naruto would be able to restrain himself from eating the poor puppy. Inspiration struck and Naruto looked at Sakura, "Thanks Sakura, I picked a name. My dog's name will be... Noodle!"

xXx

As the half moon shone in the night sky, Akari turned to talk to Mako. The organisation's infiltration expert was short and thin. He was no real fighter but Mako was able to sneak in anywhere. The fact that he had a truly unremarkable face that could be found anywhere only helped him. With no redeeming features, Mako's face would blend in the memories of anyone who happened to look at him.

"Mako, tell me again. You said the Uzumaki lives with the Uchiha right? And go over the other details to. We can't afford to gloss over anything."

"That's right. My informant says that he currently lives in the house of the Uchiha clan head. It's unfortunate since the Uchiha district is on the other side of the village but of the people we have infiltrated into the Konoha barrier teams, only one is currently on duty and is stationed on the wall furthest away from the Uchiha district.

"So we have no choice but to enter though the opening here and traverse the entire village and get back through the same hole. The longest he can keep this opening available is fifteen minutes at the absolute maximum. We must be quick."

Akari nodded. Nothing had changed since they had come up with the plan. Pulling up her skin tight half mask, she drew her short sword from the scabbard on her back with her right hand. Addressing her team of six shinobi, Akari said. "Alright. You all know the plan. As sneakily as possible, get the Uzumaki brat and get out of here. If it all goes to plan, no-one will notice our presence until we are long gone. Let's get this over with."

xXx

Kurama was meditating inside his cage. It was a habit of his that was born out of boredom but it did help him organise his thoughts. Even though Kurama would've preferred to talk to Naruto, Kurama couldn't begrudge his host from the recent decline in their communication.

Kurama knew it was petty but he was jealous. Jealous of the amount of time and focus Naruto was giving to other people when for the majority of Naruto's life, Kurama had been the only person Naruto could talk to.

_**'Naruto needs his new friends far more than me right now. He knows that I will be around, it's not like I'm going anywhere.'** _

Kurama's eyes flew open, he had detected a surge of malicious intent and it was extremely close!

Kurama screamed at Naruto in the loudest voice he had ever used, **"NARUTO WAKE UP! AN ENEMY IS NEAR!"**

Naruto's eyes flew open and the first thing he saw was a hand with a strange seal cupped in its palm, descending towards his forehead. Instinct took over and Naruto rolled to his left while flaring out Kurama's chakra to drive off the unknown assailant to his right.

Performing a kip up on his bed, Naruto spun to face his attacker. They wore a half mask to hide their identity however; Kurama could sense real, harmful intent and told Naruto so. Naruto used a Flicker to try and flank his opponent but they managed to read his movements and deflected his Gentle Fist attack.

Roaring in fury, Naruto began his assault. Using the refined movements that Guy had showed him, Naruto attacked with everything he had. The unknown attacker managed to avoid almost all damage, save for the single chakra point that Naruto managed to strike on their left forearm.

In response to Naruto's furious roar, two different bedroom doors down the hallway flew open and Mikoto and Sasuke rushed towards Naruto's room. A second enemy that Naruto had failed to notice engaged Mikoto while Sasuke performed several hand signs to back up Naruto.

A large fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth and Naruto's attacker was forced to jump away from Naruto. In rapid response, Naruto's original attacker used the fastest Body Flicker Naruto had  _ever_ seen and performed a quick chop to the back of Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke,  _somehow,_ managed to maintain consciousness but failed to stop himself from falling to the floor face first. Finding the strength to roll onto his back, Sasuke watched in horror as his attacker plunged a kunai down towards him. A sudden blur occurred and the next thing Sasuke knew, Naruto was standing above him, taking the kunai that was aimed at Sasuke's heart. Sasuke couldn't see where exactly Naruto had been stabbed as his blood splashed down on Sasuke's face.

Before Sasuke was able to say anything, Naruto's entire body was engulfed in searing flame and he launched a fiery blast that was so hot that it burned blue. The unknown attacker managed to grab Naruto's wrist and direct the scorching flames towards to ceiling.

Unbeknownst to everyone inside, the sudden light that resulted from Naruto's attack, which happened to demolish the house's roof and flare upwards for at least twenty feet, attracted a  _lot_ of attention. Akari cursed and sent another member of her party into the house in the hope that she could settle matters before they got out of hand. They couldn't afford to waste time but she also needed to cover their backs.

Atop the Hokage tower, the senior ANBU on guard told his subordinates to alert the Hokage to a security breach. Having done his duty, Tenzo summoned a wood clone to alert his friend Kakashi before rushing with all haste towards the Uchiha district.

Naruto's attacker discovered the folly of grabbing someone who had covered themselves in wind enhanced flames. As they let go, hand burning in pain, Naruto leapt forward and bear hugged his assailant. Not caring about the chakra cost, Naruto had his body flare to the hottest temperature that he could manage. As a bright, white light encompassed Naruto's room, the attacker was disintegrated into ash.

Naruto wasn't given any time to savour his victory as the man who Akari had sent in appeared and attacked him. Thanks to the combined visual prowess that was given to him, Naruto managed to use a Body Flicker to dodge the attack and appear behind his newest opponent.

Launching a fierce barrage of fire enhanced Gentle Strike attacks, Naruto gave his absolute best. Unfortunately for him, Naruto's attacker was skilled enough to evade his best attacks. With all of his focus upon the enemy in front of him, Naruto failed to react in time to another attacker who Flickered into his room and slapped a chakra suppression seal to his forehead. The effect was immediate and it affected Kurama far more than it did Naruto. The seal was designed to cut off large amounts of chakra at the source and Kurama was the largest source to attack.

As Kurama's strength left Naruto's limbs, Naruto felt an inexplicable trace of fear. For as long as he could remember, Naruto had managed to feel Kurama's presence even if it was on a subconscious level before his abduction. For the first time, Naruto's thoughts echoed in his mind and there was no comforting presence there. Kurama had been with Naruto in the Pit, Kurama had always been there but now, Naruto couldn't feel him at all. A chill crept up his spine.

Without Kurama's nature transformation, Naruto's body was simply covered with a thin, swirling gush of wind. Kurama's sealer quickly attacked Naruto alongside his comrade and Naruto, unable to call on Kurama's chakra reserves or nature, Naruto quickly fell victim to his opponents' superior skill and was knocked unconscious.

xXx

Kakashi had a habit of staying up late. It was due to years of nightmares that he couldn't get rid of and even though Kakashi had made large strides towards improvement, this was one habit that he was unable but totally willing to lose.

Therefore, while caught completely off guard when Tenzo's wood clone informed him about events happening in the Uchiha district, Kakashi was able to adapt to the situation quite quickly. He summoned his nin-dog Pakkun and told him to inform Guy of the situation before leaving.

When Kakashi arrived at the Uchiha district, he saw the limp body of Naruto being carried upon the shoulders of a masked assailant. The unknown man had just exited the front door of Mikoto's house and looked ready to jump away.

Using a Flicker, Kakashi appeared next to Naruto's attacker with a Lightning Blade at the ready. Even as the now dead body dropped to the ground, Kakashi grabbed Naruto and stepped away from the body. The sound of shattering glass above Kakashi drew his gaze and he saw Mikoto get launched out of the second floor window. She flipped in the air and landed on the ground a few meters away from Kakashi.

Looking at Kakashi Mikoto said urgently, "Kakashi, get Naruto out of here! They're here for him!"

"What about you and the kids?"

"They don't have any interest in Sasuke or Eri. You need to get Naruto free though, not even you can fight this many people."

Kakashi spared a glance down at Naruto and saw the suppression seal. He ripped it off before he was forced to return his attention to his surroundings.

Kurama instantly felt the renewed connection to Naruto and used his chakra to wake up and heal his host. Kurama felt an odd relief but it was tempered by the current situation.

In the time it took for Kakashi to rip off the seal, more enemies Flickered and surrounded both himself and Mikoto. As Naruto came to, he wriggled out of Kakashi's grasp and took his fighting stance. Counting, Naruto saw that six shinobi remained. An uncontrollable anger took him suddenly as he recognised the foul taste of Akari's chakra.

Naruto activated his Scorch mode and turned, firing a burst of blue flame directly at Akari. She jumped away to avoid it as three enemies attacked Kakashi at the same time. Mikoto would've helped but she was hard pressed as the last two fighters came at her.

Kakashi was more focused than he had ever been but knew that he was going to lose this fight. He just didn't have the space or time to fight three jonin level fighters. As an enemies' sword slipped through his guard, Kakashi heard Guy's voice shout out, "Dynamic Entry!" and his friend appeared, kicking away the man wielding the sword.

As one of Kakashi's attackers turned to deal with Guy, he was suddenly impaled by thick, wooden spears; Tenzo had arrived. Leaving the remaining two to his friends, Kakashi turned to help Mikoto, using a Flicker and blocking a kick aimed for her ribs.

Akari would've had no problem continuing the fight. She was confident in her skills but she also knew that time was running out. Needing to create an opening, Akari launched multiple fire balls which struck the houses all around her. As they burned, Akari could hear the frantic cries for help coming from at least two of them. Lighting Mikoto's house on fire, she called out for her men to retreat.

Akari then used a Body Flicker to appear next to Mikoto and ruthlessly stabbed her in the gut with her sword; kicking Kakashi away in the same movement. Her team rushed towards their exit as Guy and Tenzo both rushed to help the remaining Uchiha clan members out from their burning homes.

Naruto gave chase, even angrier than before. He had seen his mum get stabbed and right now the only thing he wanted to do was kill Akari. Flickering after her, Naruto felt more and more of Kurama's chakra surrounded him. Cancelling his Scorch mode, red chakra enveloped his body and three tails sprouted. He couldn't see it but his whisker marks had become wild and exaggerated.

Kurama's chakra cloak was extremely potent, it increased the speed and strength of his muscles. This cloak also enhanced his Flicker, and Naruto used this to appear on the right of Akari as she tried to fall back atop the rooftops.

Akari's reflexes kicked in and she deflected Naruto's fist with the flat of her sword. Taking a moment to gauge him, she noticed the swirling red chakra and Akari was reminded of her former friend Killer Bee. Akari's eyes widened.  _'This kid is a Demon Container! All this time and we didn't know. This explains so much but capturing him now will be too difficult. I don't have the time to knock him out and get him back to the barrier before Konoha's ANBU get here. This was supposed to be a quick stealth mission, not a protracted battle. I also don't fancy a fight with the Third Hokage.'_

Akari knew that she could try and capture Naruto in the future but that didn't mean that she couldn't have a little fun. Swinging her sword, she feinted with a swing from above before turning it into a stab. Naruto managed to see through this with his Sharingan but failed to see that it was a double feint. As he dodged to his right to avoid the sword, Akari cast a simple genjutsu on Naruto.

Kurama was able to dispel it almost instantly but that small window of opportunity was all Akari needed. She rapidly sliced Naruto multiple times all over his body before slicing Naruto's throat with her sword. As his hands flew up to his neck, Naruto coughed and choked. He needed air but couldn't get it. His blood ran fast through his fingers as he struggled to breath.

"Still a weakling huh brat? I can see that you want nothing more than to kill me but you're far too  _weak_  to do anything about it. I wonder how Mikoto is doing? How will you cope if she dies on you to?" Akari laughed viciously as she bounded away, making a beeline for her escape.

Naruto was left kneeling on a roof top, staring after the object of his suffering even as he gasped for breath. After Kurama healed his neck, Naruto looked down at his blood stained hands.  _'She's right. All this training and she still walks all over me. I need to get stronger.'_

xXx

Hiruzen Sarutobi was tired. It was two days after the attack and he had only managed to snag about six hours of sleep in that time. There was so much to do and he was needed by everyone. The hospital currently held five members of the Uchiha clan, including its head Mikoto. The rest of the Uchiha had been relocated to a hastily constructed apartment complex, courtesy of Tenzo, which was right next to the Hokage tower. This new building would help protect the remaining Uchiha members and also put Hiruzen's most loyal ANBU close by for security.

The district would still belong to the Uchiha but it didn't make sense for sixteen people to reside in an entire compound, especially if they were now a target.  _'I also needed to move all of them to protect Naruto. He wouldn't leave his family behind but I have to keep him safe. Perhaps I should have an ANBU watch him from the shadows at all times?'_

Looking at his desk, Hiruzen grimaced before sitting down and continued working on the mountain of paperwork that had appeared due to this recent incident. He worked in silence for twenty minutes before a knock sounded on his door. Telling them to enter, Hiruzen saw Inoichi step into his office.

"Sir," Inoichi began, shutting the door behind him and moving in front of the desk. "I tried breaking into the mind of the man who was captured by Tenzo but met the strongest mental barriers I've ever seen. I cannot break them and he has a cursed seal on his tongue, similar to the ones that Danzo uses for ROOT. We're out of options sir, what should we do next?"

Hiruzen ran his right hand over his face in frustration. It was probably a combination of sleep deprivation, stress and controlled anger that led him to this decision.

"Get Naruto Uzumaki. He can break those barriers."

xXx

Naruto gazed down at the man who was chained to his chair. They were currently in a bland room with the only furniture being the chair that was bolted to the floor. A single light bulb gave the only illumination and Naruto's hair shadowed his eyes.

Although his face was plain, a great anger was bubbling inside him. Naruto had had a tough two days, Sasuke gave him space but he was the only one who did so. Naruto had come to appreciate the fact that Sasuke and himself were not so different.  _'We both know that a lot can be said in silence. I can't stand everyone asking me 'are you okay?' like I'm a child.'_

Everyone else didn't seem to realise that Naruto just wanted to train to get stronger. He spent almost every minute of daylight training and most of the night sitting by Mikoto's hospital bed with Sasuke, Eri and Noodle. His manic determination was noticed by everyone but no-one raised any issues, Guy simply did his best to streamline Naruto's Gentle Strike.

Now though, Naruto had a small chance for retribution. The Hokage wanted Naruto to use Psylink and interrogate the man in front of him and Naruto was happy to do it.  _'This man helped Akari. Mum could've died and he helped Akari. I will make him understand how stupid he was to do that!'_  Naruto allowed his emotions to swell, the anger flooding his veins and with malicious intent, he activated Psylink.

The man's mental fortitude was nothing compared to this ability and for an instant, he saw a glimpse of Naruto's life. Suddenly pain rocked his entire being and against his will, his memories flashed through his mind. Each one was painstakingly analysed before it was  _torn_ from his mind. He had been trained to withstand pain and torture but this was pain on a level that couldn't be comprehended. He watched his memories, his essence, flash in front of him before getting ripped away slowly and started to forget who he was.

Naruto watched in morbid fascination. He had no idea that Psylink could work like this but then again, he had never used it while this angry. He had never used it as an attack and the results were astonishing. The man was slowly losing the very things that made him who he was. Naruto could feel the man's new found confusion as he no longer remembered the reason why he was being subjected to Psylink or even what his name was but quivered in fear at the pain he now associated with the memories of someone he didn't know.

After a time, Naruto ran out of memories to view. In the past, this would be where he would end Psylink but this time he stayed his hand. There was one thing left in the man's mind. It wasn't a memory, it was a small ball of light. Naruto crushed it and the man shook in his chair before falling still, his face going slack. His mouth drooped open and he started to drool as he stared aimlessly at the floor.

Ending the Psylink, an incredible backlash hit Naruto's mind. All the pain he had inflicted hit him at the same time. Thankfully, it only lasted for a second but it was the worst thing he had ever endured. Immediately following the pain, a brief instant of exhilaration surged through him. It was the strangest sensation but it did feel good even if it was only for an instant.

Stepping back, Naruto saw the man slumped in his chair.  _'Is he still a man? Or is he just a body with a heartbeat?'_

Naruto left the interrogation room to deliver his report. He had a pounding headache but it was worth it. Sure, the pain had been awful but he had managed to do what the Hokage had wanted.

Kurama was beside himself. He had suffered the same backlash as Naruto and it had been excruciating. Kurama, on some level, knew that Naruto didn't know that the backlash would happen but it didn't stop Kurama from getting angry. Naruto was focused on his thoughts, putting together his report and failed to realise something but Kurama did.

Kurama hadn't been present to see the memories of the man but he had been able to feel Naruto's emotions during Psylink. Naruto was busy getting his information, too busy to notice that after a while, he could've stopped. Naruto had gleaned everything of importance from the man but Naruto didn't stop. He kept destroying the man's… soul. It was almost as if Naruto suffered from a compulsion to  _tear_  every memory he saw apart and Kurama feared what Naruto would do if he fed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noodle will be a normal dog. It has a purpose just not a very big one. 
> 
> What did you think of the new way Naruto can use Psylink?
> 
> Let me know, please review. 
> 
> I have now offically caught up to where my story is at on FFN. I will be updating the story on both sites from now on. I don't know if you guys will want the chapter from FFN the instant its uploaded since it will almost certainly be shorter than what you are used to. What do you guys want? A longer wait on Ao3 so that you get longer chapters, or shorter chapters,usually, every week? Let me know.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haha, yesit's a new chapter. I just realised that my original chapters 5 and 6 were the same. So I deleted 6 and uploaded a new chapter as well. 
> 
> Hopefully that didn't drive anyone away.
> 
> Oh yeah, very slight trigger warning, a small amount of cannibalism occurs in this chapter. Near the end, it's off screen and not really detailed but just letting you guys know.

"Okay Hiruzen, what's with the cryptic note?" asked Reo Suzuki, Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

"Reo, I need to know what you can tell me about the attack we suffered last week. I have activated several different seals in this office to ensure our privacy."

Reo ran his chubby right hand through his long brown hair. "Well, I don't know the identity of the people who actually attacked but I can hazard a guess as to who ordered the it. I would say that it's Shoma Nakamura, Daimyo of the Land of Earth."

Resting his hands on his rather obvious stomach, Reo took a breath and continued, "Shoma has a serious grudge with your Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. In the decisive battle in the Third Shinobi War, the one where Minato killed a thousand enemies in an hour; Shoma lost his son, a cousin and a ninja who also happened to be his favourite concubine.

"Shoma is the one who fronted the majority of the bounty on Minato or any of his family. The rest was provided by the Hidden Stone village. Shoma is… ruthless. He has allowed the power of his position to go to his head and he does what he wants, when he wants. The only reason the people do not live in fear of him is that his private ninja abduct random people from other areas as his victims. The one redeeming feature about him is that he never lies, he considers it beneath him.

"You cannot go against Shoma. He fields the largest number of samurais of all the Daimyo, not to mention that he has a large percentage of the Stone's Explosion Corp in his pocket."

There was a pregnant pause. Hiruzen now had a name responsible for the damage to his village but there was nothing he could do about it. It was infuriating. Looking Reo in the eye, Hiruzen asked, "If I made a move against the Stone, would you sanction it? After all, they attacked our country, are we to just abide foreign enemies attacking his with impunity?"

Reo sighed and fiddled with his robes. "Hiruzen, the peace we have is standing on the edge of a knife. Even though I do not participate in the  _baser_ aspects of the Daimyo council, I am apart of it. We manipulate and pull so many strings across the land. Shoma is currently the only Daimyo who is ready for war.

"Wind's Daimyo, Jin Nishiyama, is very frugal. War would force him to spend money he works so hard to horde. He also might not be able to count on his Hidden Village's support after outsourcing so many ninja missions here instead.

"None of us have heard from Mist in several months. We are almost certain that an S ranked missing nin called Kisame Hoshigaki assassinated the Daimyo. Until the civil war in the Mist is resolved, none of us will step in to help 'choose' the next Daimyo.

"Lightning's Daimyo, Manabu Shingan, is very aggressive and would wage war easily. However, he would wait for someone else to attack first. He is a wild card and I cannot predict who he would side with if we went to war."

Hiruzen sat back in his chair, it was a lot of information to process but Reo wasn't finished. Hiruzen continued listening as he took a quick sip of coffee.

"What I am trying to say is; the Daimyo operate in secret to maintain peace while also serving our self-interests. For Shoma and Manabu, they covertly took control of the black market to help control valuable materials from getting into other people's hands. If a few people happen to disappear for their personal entertainment, no one bats an eye.

"Jin and I used our resources to corner the criminal underworld. By plucking missing nin up and employing them, we stabilise peace by ensuring that the truly dangerous are not set loose on innocent people. That Akatsuki managed to grab hold of so many S ranks offends my pride. I have several of my best people searching around for information on them.

"Although I personally have nothing to do with the Pit, I know of its existence. I also knew about Naruto's whereabouts this entire time. Now-" Reo held his hand up to stop Hiruzen from speaking in anger. Hiruzen shut his mouth but his eyes were burning.

"Now I know this annoys you but you have to understand, I couldn't risk you doing something rash and jeopardising our country for one boy. It is a cardinal rule that we Daimyo operate in secret and should any information get leaked to the public, the guilty party would be utterly crushed by the other Daimyos. One boy cannot come before my people Hiruzen, not even my own son. It may mollify you to know that Naruto gave them a fake last name and I kept that a secret.

"I'm not perfect. I am guilty of many sins but everything I do, I do it to help the Land of Fire. Know this, if you try to go to war, I will step in and stop you before it even gets passed our border.

"The largest reason we have managed to keep the peace however, is manipulating the ninja villages into believing they wield the worlds power. By feeding the egos of the Five Kage, we ensure that none are tempted to aspire to greater levels of power."

Hiruzen was angry but also felt his anger fading slowly. He didn't like it but Reo was right. It also answered many questions, including whether or not Reo would support him. Hiruzen would have to get his revenge on Shoma Nakamura alone.

xXx

Naruto was standing in a clear training ground, puzzling over the words that Kakashi had said to him about the Body Flicker jutsu.  _'How do I use it like Shisui? Kakashi said if I kept using it the way I did, I would never get it. Does that mean I have to look at the basics and change something?'_

Thinking about the way to perform a Flicker, Naruto channelled than compressed chakra into his feet before Flickering away to a spot several meters away. An idea popped into Naruto's head and he excitedly tried it out. Jiraiya had said that you had to compress chakra into both feet, but did you? Using only one foot, Naruto performed another Flicker. It was a little slower than if he had used both feet but Naruto chalked that up to using less overall chakra.

Forcing himself to go slowly and get things right, Naruto than alternated using both feet separately for Flickers. Although single foot Flickers were slower, the interval between Flickers was a lot shorter which meant that overall, Naruto was far faster than if he used both feet. The biggest problem Naruto found was that it was quite hard to keep track of where he wanted to go, as well as the correct amount of chakra needed. Sure, Kurama had enormous reserves but there was no sense in being wasteful.

' _But what if I didn't waste any? Can I continually compress chakra into separate feet? This would mean that every step I take is a Flicker but I would only have to worry about the location and not worry about chakra management. I'd be almost uncatchable but I would also have to do a lot of reflex training.'_

After an hour of experimentation, Naruto discovered that while he couldn't continually compress chakra, Kurama could. Though Kurama couldn't send the compressed chakra to Naruto's feet, he was able to give it to Naruto to control. From there, it was a simply matter to channel it to his feet before using it as a Flicker. This wasn't quite as fast as Naruto had initially wanted but his speed was already far higher than before so he wasn't that fussed. It just gave him something else to perfect.

It also helped that Kurama now understood the basics of the Body Flicker and could micro manage his chakra far easier than Naruto. It killed two birds with one stone and Naruto spent the rest of the day trying to get faster. He got to the point where he could use a Flicker on every step which gave him far more angles to attack from.

As night fell, Naruto made his way to the hospital. It had been a week since the attack but Mikoto was still bed ridden. The doctor said that she was lucky that the stab had missed her spine but it did cause major damage to her organs. It would probably take several weeks before she was back on her feet.

Guilt had made Naruto even more withdrawn than normal. He was the target of the attack, he had managed to figure that out. If he hadn't been there than Mikoto wouldn't have been stabbed. A small part of his mind knew that it was a little foolish to think that but he couldn't help it. This was his family and they had come under fire just from his existence.  _'I need to get stronger. Stronger than anyone else to that I can protect them.'_

As he stepped passed the front desk, Naruto heard his name called. Turning, Naruto saw the bespectacled face of Kabuto. Kabuto had taken the time to introduce himself to Sasuke and Naruto. Kabuto had studied medical jutsu and explained the things that the doctor refused to say; citing their youth as an excuse to keep the truth from them. Both Sasuke and Naruto appreciated being treated like an adult, they were no longer kids.

"Back from training Naruto? How did it go?" asked Kabuto good naturedly.

"Yes. I made a lot of progress today. If I can perfect it, I might end up the fastest person under the age of twenty in the village. That depends on Lee and whether or not he can go any faster than he has shown me."

"Well my offer still stands. I may be a genin who has failed the chunin exams seven times but I do know a few things. I can help you train if you want. Maybe show you some medical jutsu."

The offer appealed to Naruto. It was definitely something that he was interested in learning. "Thanks Kabuto. Maybe next week? I have to see mum now."

"Of course," replied Kabuto, stepping out of Naruto's way. "Until next time Naruto."

As Naruto made his way to Mikoto's room, he failed to see the predatory gleam of Kabuto's eyes as they followed Naruto's departure.

xXx

Mikoto stirred in her sleep before waking up. Opening her eyes, the only light source came from her bedside lamp. Mikoto could see that night had truly fallen by the dark sky visible through her window.

Glancing down, she could see the huddled form of Eri curled up on the bed with her. Mikoto felt a mix of emotions for the poor girl. She had been forced to lose far too much in her short life. Eri had finally started to settle into Mikoto's home and getting used to Sasuke and Naruto only for the attack to occur. It certainly didn't help that Mikoto was getting rather attached to Eri, she had always wanted a daughter.

Lying awkwardly on one of the room's chairs, Naruto was sleeping. He refused to sleep elsewhere, he didn't say so but Mikoto knew that Naruto feared another attack. While she wanted to comfort her adopted son, Mikoto knew that he needed space at the moment. Naruto had never been one to talk about his feelings, the Pit had taught him that it was a weakness.

Still, Naruto and Sasuke were finally coming around to each other. They both had the goal of becoming strong and pushed each other harder than anything else.

' _I hope they are both on the same squad. They need each other more than they realise. Considering that graduation is next week, I wonder who their sensei will be.'_

xXx

Sakura wasn't quite sure what to think about her new sensei. She recognised him as someone who had been present when Naruto and Sasuke trained with that Guy person but she had never paid much attention to him.

First impressions were not favourable as he was an hour late, she didn't know it but she was lucky that it wasn't his usual three. He then ordered them to the roof before asking them to share personal information. He had been very annoying when he essentially only told them his name, Kakashi Hatake.

Sasuke's little speech had creeped Sakura out a little. Although he mentioned that he liked to train with Naruto and his family. Sure he wanted to rebuild his clan but the one thing that stuck in her mind was his ambition was to kill a certain man. What was that all about?

Her attention was caught when Naruto started in his stage whisper, "You all know my name already. I like my family and friends. Ramen is the best food in the world. I dislike… cages. My dream is to one day be so strong that I will be able to save the people I care about from dying." That was all Naruto said, he had noticed the way Kakashi had seemed to focus on Sasuke when he said he wanted to kill Itachi. Naruto decided that it would be smarter to keep his desire to kill Akari to himself.

' _Naruto dislikes cages?'_ Sakura thought,  _'What does he have against cages? Still, he is so cool, wanting to protect the people he cares about.'_

It was Sakura's turn now. She took a moment to think before speaking, "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like my family and…" She suddenly blushed as she snuck a glance at both Naruto and Sasuke. Finding her voice she continued, "I dislike loud and obnoxious people."

Squaring her shoulders, Sakura remembered Mikoto's words and she spoke in a firmer tone, "I don't really have a dream yet but I want to be strong. I want people who see me to think, 'Wow, I don't think I could beat her in a fight.' I know that I'm the weak link here but I promise to work hard so that I won't hold you back!"

Nodding in agreement, Kakashi stood and gave them their instructions about their real test that would be held the next day.

xXx

The sun was high in the sky as Kakashi Hatake stood in the middle of training ground seven, waiting. The bell test had started roughly an hour ago and they still had an hour left but he hadn't seen a hair on any of his charge's heads.

With his senses, Kakashi was able to get an idea about their location. The three prospective genin had gathered and seemed to be planning an attack. That was fine with Kakashi, they clearly saw the real purpose behind the test, which was teamwork.

Snapping shut the book that he hadn't really been reading, Kakashi began a slow walk towards his team. When they realised that he had started to move, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto all leapt away and into position.

After a minute of waiting, Sasuke burst through the trees and onto the training ground. Rushing Kakashi, he began a complicated series of moves in an attempt to secure one of the two bells attached to Kakashi's belt.  _'Sasuke moves quite well for a genin. He really is talented.'_

One of Sasuke's hands neared the bells and Kakashi focused on the movement, moving back slightly to thwart Sasuke's attempt. It was in that instant with Kakashi's attention somewhat diverted that Naruto struck.

Using separately compressed chakra in both of his feet, his Flicker was faster than normal and was enough to make Kakashi think about trying a little harder. Settling into his Gentle Strike, Naruto and Sasuke in combination attacked as one.

With both boys on either side, Kakashi parried and dodged their attacks. He knew that he needed to gain some space and kicked Sasuke in the stomach in an effort to send him flying back a few metres. Even as Sasuke was flying backwards, he threw a kunai at Kakashi but he had rushed his aim and Kakashi could see that it would be off course by a few inches. Turning his attention to Naruto, Kakashi blocked another punch before all of his senses screamed at him to dodge.

Kakashi jumped away from the fight and saw Sakura standing right where Sasuke's thrown kunai had been a second before.  _'She must've used a Substitution with Sasuke's kunai to get in position. A good plan, it would've worked on a chunin but not me. Still though, their teamwork is excellent.'_

Though Sakura had failed to grasp the bells, she didn't lose heart and attacked again. With both Naruto and Sakura now attacking Kakashi side by side, he was better placed to defend. All of a sudden, Kakashi saw Sasuke with his peripheral vision launch a large fireball at all three of them.

Kakashi was about to get angry at Sasuke for recklessly endangering his teammates when Naruto and Sakura seem to lose all colour before they lost their form and liquefied into oil. Understanding that this was the plan all along, he used a Substitution with a nearby log to escape the fireball.

Even before the smoke had cleared from Sasuke's attack, Naruto attacked with another Flicker. Dodging away, Kakashi noticed that Naruto was now using a Flicker with each foot and easily kept pace with Kakashi.  _'He managed to get this far with the Flicker? Only one more step then he will surpass Shisui.'_

Dodging all over the training ground, Naruto was unable to land a hit on Kakashi but was able to stay near him due to all of his practice. Suddenly, Sasuke Substituted himself with Naruto and attacked before Naruto used another Flicker from Sasuke's previous location to get behind Kakashi, before Sakura Subbed in for Naruto, after which, Naruto used another Flicker to get on Kakashi's right flank.

With three opponents pressing him, Kakashi went through several hand signs and disappeared into the ground. He briefly thought about making a shadow clone to fight them but ruled it out. Naruto's Byakugan would still see the original Kakashi under ground and know something was up.

He popped out of the ground several meters away and was immediately pounced on by Naruto. Kakashi however was ready and simply used an Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation, vanishing back into the ground the instant Naruto used his Flicker, reaching up in time and grabbing Naruto's ankle and dragging him into the earth, up to his neck. Naruto was now out of the fight.

Creating a shadow clone, Kakashi turned his attention on Sasuke as his clone prepared to capture Sakura in a genjutsu. Even though Sasuke had become very cautious after seeing Naruto get trapped he failed to stop Kakashi from tying him up with rope and leaving him hanging from a tree branch. Sasuke had no real idea how it happened and guessed that Kakashi had used his actual speed to catch him.

Sakura had managed to break the genjutsu he had placed on her. Kakashi wasn't sure if it was on purpose or if she had flared her chakra in response to what he had shown her but she was free now. Looking around, she saw Sasuke incapacitated and Naruto still buried up to his neck. Frowning, she turned and looked Kakashi in the eye, readying another kunai. She however had made a mistake and captured her in another genjutsu.

This was far simpler than the previous one. He changed nothing about the world and she shouldn't notice the change in perception. In the genjutsu, Kakashi reached up and brought his mask down. An absolutely horrifying face was revealed, with rotting flesh and blood dripping down. This was so far out of the norm and terrifying that Sakura screamed in horror before passing out.  _'Hmm, maybe I over did that one. Oops.'_

With all three of his students incapacitated, Kakashi called an end to the exercise and freed both Naruto and Sasuke. Waking Sakura up, he handed out some lunch to his new team.

"Good job guys. You all pass!" said Kakashi with a smile.

"But sensei, we didn't get any bells." Said Sakura in response.

"True but there was a hidden meaning in this test. Can anyone tell me what it was?"

Sasuke frowned in thought before saying, "Is it how we worked together? It seems to be the only thing we did that entire time."

"Yes Sasuke, it was about teamwork. Your squad will be the people you will have to rely on in battle. People that you can work with under any circumstance. You might not know this but our village is a little different to the other Hidden villages. They do use a squad based system but focus on individual development. This gives the talented people time to shine but the more average ninja flounder and often die in battle.

"Konoha instead emphasises teamwork. At the start this may feel a little stifling for the more talented genin but in time produces better ninja over all. Just look at the Legendary Three. Orochimaru and Tsunade are both very talented and out shone Jiraiya in their genin days. However, by working together, the three became far greater than they could ever achieve by themselves. Jiraiya worked hard and is now easily the equal to his squad mates. This wouldn't have happened in other villages. Orochimaru and Tsunade would've been given preferential treatment but they all would've died when they fought Hanzo the Salamander.

"It was only though teamwork that Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya survived Hanzo and he in turn named them the Legendary Three. Do you see what I mean?"

Kakashi's little speech had captured his team's attention. As all three nodded Kakashi spoke again, "It is also my intention to train you guys so hard that you will this generations Legendary Three. Is that something you want?"

Although there was a slight apprehension from Sakura at the amount of work their sensei had promised, she nodded along with her team. ' _That's good, in time Sakura will get passed this petty fear of hard work and become truly fearsome._ '

The boys hadn't said anything in response but the determination in their gaze gave Kakashi all the answer he needed.

"Okay team seven. You have a choice, take the rest of the day off or we can start training right now."

Getting to his feet, Naruto simply stated that he wanted to train. Sasuke and Sakura followed suite. Grinning under his mask, Kakashi rubbed his hands together in anticipation for the torture he had planned.

xXx

Sasuke watched his new team with a small frown. It wasn't directed at them though, it was at Kabuto. Kabuto had said that Naruto wished to learn a little bit of medical jutsu and Kakashi didn't have a problem with that.

This had led to Sasuke's frown. Sakura apparently had great chakra control and also an aptitude for the medical arts. Kabuto had trained each of them but Sakura was clearly the best out of the team.

Sasuke wasn't really angry at Kabuto or for that matter, Sakura. He was angry at himself. Itachi hadn't known medical jutsu, to Sasuke's knowledge, and he saw this a good opportunity to excel at something that his brother hadn't.

Kabuto had told Sasuke that although his chakra control was good, he lacked the patience required to accurately diagnose and treat injuries. He also apparently lacked the finesse needed to heal truly delicate things such as internal injuries.

This frustration at his lack of talent for healing only compounded Sasuke's disappointment at his personal strength.  _'I can't keep going at this slow pace. I will never catch up to Itachi at this rate!'_

Disappointment wasn't the only thing on Sasuke's mind however, there was a myriad of emotions swirling inside of him and Sasuke didn't know how to handle it. He still mourned the loss of his clan but that was tempered by the return of his mother and strangely enough, Naruto and Eri. Sasuke was worried about the attack and his mother's health and even though Sasuke knew that it was childish, a small part of him resented Naruto's role in it.

Not just the fact that they were there for him but also the fact that Sasuke had rushed to help Naruto and ended up having to be saved. It was an accidental slap in the face, even if Naruto didn't know how it affected Sasuke. The only solace Sasuke could take was that Naruto was worse at medical jutsu than himself. Something about the larger your reserves, the harder it got to control.

Turning his back on his team and his lack of medical talent, he made his way further out the training ground team Seven was using. He started his usual exercise routine of push ups and stomach crunches but added to the overall workload.

' _I need to find something I am truly good at. Something that neither Itachi or Naruto can do. Or for that matter, Sakura.'_

xXx

Team Seven stood in the mission briefing room watching the Hokage decide their next mission. Looking at Kakashi, Hiruzen asked, "Kakashi, may I ask why you haven't pushed for a C rank mission for your team? They are clearly ready for it, what with all the training you are putting them through."

"Sir, when we started missions, I gave them all a choice, we can get three D ranks done in the morning followed by an entire afternoon training or try and push for a C rank that would almost certainly turn out to be far more boring than they expected. All three of my genin want to push themselves further and at this stage of their ninja career, they will get more use out of training than running around our border on patrol while nothing interesting happens."

It was true, in general, even though C ranks were harder than D ranks, they weren't quite as exciting as most new genin believed.

"Well Kakashi," Hiruzen replied, "I am now giving your team a C rank. Asuma and team Ten have just returned from their mission in Wave country. I was given an interesting report.

"Apparently there is a new kind of drug being sold on the streets. I believe it's called 'Amp'. The chemicals hit one's chakra network and gives it a massive boost. Asuma wasn't able to obtain a sample but according to his report; He killed Zabuza, who had been hired by a man called Gato to kill his client and once Zabuza's comrade witnessed it, he inhaled some Amp and attacked Asuma.

"Zabuza's comrade was, by Asuma's reckoning, at least chunin level. However, after using Amp, Asuma's foe grew in strength and speed. Asuma said that it neared that of an experienced jonin but his enemy wasn't used to that kind of speed and Asuma was able to cut him down easily.

"So, as you can see, news of this Amp is quite disturbing but we don't know enough about it. I dispatched someone to Wave to try and locate the source. However, team Seven's mission is to journey to several small villages located throughout fire country and see if the drug is being sold in our country and if it is confiscate it so that our people can look at it.

"I have already sent Guy and his team to search the villages in the northern part of our country. Kurenai and team Eight are currently in the east. You can pick between west and south. The next available genin team will take the remaining option."

Sasuke wanted south while Naruto opted for west. After an intense look, both boys blurred into motion. Iruka, who was also present, almost reacted but saw that neither Kakashi or the Hokage had moved. Iruka then saw, to his relief, that both boys had finished a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors with Sasuke winning via Scissors.

Kakashi than spoke up, "Okay team Seven, looks like we are going south. We're departing the village in four hours. We will meet at the southern gate. Pack for about a week or so. This shouldn't take long."

xXx

Kakashi was restless. The mission had so far been just as boring as he imagined.  _'Why couldn't I have just been allowed to train them in the village?'_

As they walked through the forest near the next village, Kakashi looked around. Something wasn't right. After thinking about it he realised what it was. The sounds of the forest had stopped. No birds chirped, no rustle in the bushes, no buzzing of insects, nothing.

"Team, something dangerous has spooked the local wildlife and the animals are either lying low or have moved on. Be on guard, just in case."

At his words, team Seven gripped some kunai and turned their gazes outward. After a few short minutes, the next village came into view. Walking into it, Kakashi saw several pairs of eyes watching fearfully from inside their homes, only to hastily vanish behind curtains when he made eye contact.

Stopping in what could be considered the village square, team Seven looked around before Kakashi knocked on the door of the nearest house.

"Hello? We are ninja's from Konoha. We are looking for whoever may be in charge of this village."

Kakashi heard a relieved gasp from the other side of the door before it opened to reveal a man with an extremely large nose.

"Konoha ninja? Are you here to kill the monsters?"

"What monsters? Do you have a village headsman or something similar?"

"Oh right. Follow me."

A man led team Seven across the square to plain wooden house with a bright green door.

"Gon! Konoha ninja are here to save us!"

After a brief pause, the door flew open to reveal the man named Gon. Unlike the other villager, Gon had a rather small, button nose though he did have an impressive number of freckles.

"Is this true? You will help us?! Thank you so much!"

"Calm down," Kakashi said in a calm tone. "Explain what has happened."

Gon launched into his explanation. He told team Seven about how for the last month, people were getting attacked.

There was no method or pattern, just that on random nights, people happened to get attacked. That the next morning the only thing villagers found were half eaten remains.

Kakashi asked Gon to lead team Seven to the sight of the latest attack, apparently it had occurred during the night. The remaining villagers had yet to draw straws about who had to clean up the bloody corpse. Apparently, there was a superstition going around that whoever cleaned up the bodies were next attacked.

Gon refused to enter the house but Kakashi paused before going in alone.  _'I know they will need to see death someday but if I can prolong that I will. I was far too young to find my father's body. I will keep their innocence intact as long as I can.'_ Kakashi chose to forget that both Sasuke and Naruto were far too familiar with death.

xXx

Team Seven stayed on guard while they waited for their sensei to leave the house. Roughly ten minutes later, Kakashi stepped back out into the street and looked to be holding a small bit of cloth. He explained that it was blood taken from underneath the fingernails of the body inside. It was likely that this belonged to the 'monster'.

Before committing to anything though, Kakashi turned to his team and asked, "Alright team, it's your choice. Do we help them or continue on our mission?"

After a brief pause, all three agreed to help. Blatantly ignoring Gon, who happened to be thanking them while in the middle of a bow, Kakashi summoned Pakkun and gave him the small cloth that smelled of the blood of one of the 'monsters.

Giving it a sniff, Pakkun led team Seven out of the village into the surrounding woods. After several hours, the nin dog stopped.

"The trail goes cold here. I can't smell anymore blood in the area round us. Not even in the trees. End of the line for me." With that said, Pakkun dispelled himself in a puff of smoke.

' _Well they either started flying or went underground.'_  Kakashi thought. Turning to his team, he said

"Naruto, use your Byakugan. What can you see underneath us?"

Naruto did so and was puzzled. Almost the entire ground looked normal but there were strange pockets of air here and there. It appeared random but they were grouped a little too closely to be a coincidence. It was almost like looking through a window that was splattered in mud.

After Naruto relayed the information, Kakashi started looking around for some kind of clue. After a few minutes of silent searching, he found it. A small lever located inside a hollow tree. Pulling the lever, a metal slab was lowered down on one hinge, leading to a stairway. It didn't look very inviting.

"Okay guys, diamond formation with me at the rear. Naruto on point with Sasuke on the right and Sakura on the left. Keep your eyes peeled and if you even think you saw something, tell me straight away."

Kakashi thought,  _'I would prefer to lead but watching the rear of a squad is the most dangerous spot and even though Naruto has the Byakugan, I don't want to place Naruto there. Since I have to watch our backs, Naruto is the clear choice to lead. He's stronger than the other two.'_

Slowly making their way down, the team entered a dimly lit corridor. Cheap lights were attached to the left wall every few meters. They did little to lift the gloom in the wide corridor. Kakashi guessed that it was around five meters wide and three meters high.

A steel door with a small window was a few meters ahead and to their right. Kakashi asked Naruto to try and scout it out but apparently whatever blocked his vision was happening here to.

That something was able to stop the Byakugan alarmed Kakashi and a part of him wanted to leave the corridor. He didn't want to place his team in unnecessary danger but he also knew that the boys wouldn't stand for it.

Giving his orders, team seven slowly advanced down the corridor before Kakashi noticed it. It was a trip wire. He called out but it was too late, Naruto stepped right on it. The effect was instant.

The door in front of them burst open and eight figures rushed out. They didn't pause, ask questions or demand answers, the figures just attacked. Naruto answered with a burst of flame that spanned the entire corridor. Seven figures however, jumped through the flame with minimal difficulty.

Four of them immediately attacked Kakashi which left his students with a foe each. A swift Lightning Blade quickly took care of two of his assailants. One of the figures sprouted tusks from his lower jaw and his skin turned a dark green. Moving with an even greater speed, the tusked figure managed to piece Kakashi's left forearm, which he had raised in defence.

' _It's some kind of transformation. It gives them much more power. Is this the result of Amp?'_

He quickly tried to stab the tusked man with his kunai but they jumped away. Using the opportunity, Kakashi raised his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan. Suddenly, the last of Kakashi's original attackers burst from the ground underneath him, trying to stab him with a short sword. This one was covered in strange black marks that appeared to crawl over his skin.

As Kakashi dodged the stab, a grunt of pain from Sasuke sounded. This forced Kakashi to create a shadow clone which would be able to help his team.  _'I hope it lasts a while. I don't have the chakra to spare for shadow clones right now.'_

The figure with the sword emerged from the ground fully, her skin turning a dark grey and her incisors growing by six centimetres.

The two figures attacked at the same time and Kakashi managed to hold them off but the narrow space stopped him from getting too creative. The proximity of his team also prevented him from using his more destructive jutsus.

Both figures reached into their pockets and took out a small packet.  _'Is that Amp? I thought they were already on it? Are they going to get even stronger?'_

After snorting the contents of the packets, both enemies seemed to radiate a strange intensity. Their eyes shone with a manic gleam and they licked their lips sickeningly. Kakashi did take note that their appearance didn't change at all.  _'Perhaps the transformation is unrelated to Amp.'_

Kakashi wanted nothing more than to end the fight quickly but knew from experience that he would have to wait for his opportunity.

xXx

As soon as the figures had emerged, Sasuke knew they had trouble. When Naruto's attack didn't seem to do anything, sweat began to form on his brow. As his foe attacked, Sasuke turned his Sharingan on. Even though it was incomplete, it still allowed him to predict his foe's movements.

Sasuke slowly gained some confidence and instead of focusing on defence he began attacking. He over extended on one punch and received a painful kick to his ribs just as he lost his balance. A grunt of pain escaped his lips and Sasuke backed away, trying to gain some space.

It wasn't enough though and his foe flew through several hand signs before, "Fire Release: Blazing Ball!" and a fireball formed. In mid-flight however, it starting spinning and got a lot faster. It also turned slightly, following Sasuke. Even with his Sharingan, the increased speed threw his timing off and Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it. Sasuke crossed his arms in front of his face in preparation but Kakashi's shadow clone had raised a large earthen wall in front of Sasuke to protect him.

It was in that instant, when Sasuke, Kakashi and his clone were cut off from the rest of the corridor by the wall that the clone had raised, that it happened. Sakura's shrill scream echoed in the space but it started going further down the corridor. She was being taken away from the team.

Cursing, the clone lowered the wall but was set on by enemy reinforcements. Four more foes had appeared and three attacked the clone. The clone was pushed to its limits; It had to focus on defence since just one hit would end it and it knew Kakashi couldn't afford another clone, especially since they were facing an unknown number of enemies.

For his part, Sasuke tangled with his new foe. Sasuke found himself grabbed and thrown through the doorway where the original eight attackers had come from. Throwing a kunai at the doorway as he flew in the air, Sasuke glanced around looking for an advantage. On the wall was a weapons rack that held a katana.

Firing a fireball at the doorway after he returned to his feet, Sasuke made a beeline for the sword. He felt his fingers brush the hilt before he was jerked backwards by his shirt's collar. He was slammed into a wooden barrel. The barrel broke and Sasuke found himself laying on hundreds of small packets of purple powder.  _'Is this Amp? I can't beat this guy. If I die here, I can't fight Itachi!'_

That thought propelled Sasuke to grab a packet and snort some powder. Sasuke was hit by a sudden burst of euphoria and strength flowed through his veins. Fighting now seemed so trivial to him.

His new opponent, who had been too fast to track, now appeared to be moving in slow motion. Sasuke dodged to his left and ran across the room to grab the katana.  _'I'm at least eight times faster than before! I feel so strong!'_

Holding the katana in his hands just seemed right to Sasuke. It was almost as if his arms were finally complete. His new found confidence grew even more with the sword and he quickly used his new found speed to slice his foe across the stomach. Reversing his grip, Sasuke stabbed backwards and pieced the enemy's heart. Looking at the sword in his hands Sasuke thought,  _'I've found it, the thing I'm good at.'_

Sasuke starting walking towards the door to re-join his team but stopped when he caught sight of the smashed barrel. He stared at the packets of Amp silently. After several moments, he pocketed several packs before he walked out of the room.

xXx

Naruto heard Sakura's scream and his anger grew. His opponent had grown horns and was a lot tougher than at the start of the fight. Using his anger as fuel, Naruto channeled Kurama's fire in his right hand, Wind in his left and Oil in his gut. Expelling all three at the same time produced the hottest attack Naruto had ever made. The flames burned white and his opponent was incinerated instantly.

He deliberately undershot his attack, not knowing how far away Sakura was. As the flames died down, Naruto saw that the sheer intensity of his attack had etched his foe's shadow into the stone floor. The air in the corridor had become almost unbearably hot and everyone in it broke out into fevered sweating.

Naruto glanced back at his team. Kakashi was still busy and Sasuke had just been thrown into the room behind him.  _'I have to trust that they can handle themselves. Sakura was over powered, she needs help!'_

Naruto began running after Sakura. He knew it was dumb but Sakura was his friend. She had been so weak and annoying in the beginning but she had really stepped up her game and Naruto could respect that. So, he ran after her against his better judgement.

" **Naruto, I know I won't be able to stop you so just listen. You are running into unknown territory and somehow your Byakugan is blocked. Your ability to sense chakra however still works. Focus on Sakura's and you might be able to find her without searching blindly."** Kurama said, his tone tense.

Naruto forced himself to stop and focus. He wasn't very good at sensing, he had neglected it thinking that his Byakugan wouldn't let him down.  _'I can't sense anything. How could I be so stupid to not practice my sensing?'_

Loud footsteps sounded behind and spinning around, Naruto saw a massive bulldog. It had black fur and was dressed just like Pakkun; a blue vest and Leaf headband tied to his left leg. A spiked collar glinted in the light. It spoke in a deep, gravelly tone. "Come, I'm one of Kakashi's nin dogs, my name is Bull. I can lead you to Sakura. Kakashi picked me since I am his primary fighting summon."

Nodding, Naruto gestured for Bull to take the lead.  _'Just hang on Sakura, I'm coming!'_

Bull and Naruto charged forward but after a few minutes, the corridor opened up into a large room. A large bulb hung from the ceiling but that was the only light source. The outer walls covered in shadows. Another enemy attacked but Bull and Naruto took him down quickly. Bull lowered his nose to the ground before grunting and setting off once again.

Following Bull through a different doorway, Naruto prayed that he would make it in time. Rounding a left turn, Naruto could suddenly hear Sakura's muffled screaming. She was close now. Taking a right turn, the muffled screaming suddenly stopped.

There was a wooden door in front of them. Bull didn't stop, picking up his pace, he slammed his shoulder into the door with all his might, the door splintering into pieces. Naruto was hot on his heels. Turning his gaze rapidly, he first saw the body of a man face down, blood pooling on the floor.

In the corner furthest away from the body sat Sakura, hunched over, knees brought up to her chest and cradling her left arm to her body. She was shaking silently, head resting on her knees.

"Sakura! It's Naruto. What happened?"

Naruto slowly approached Sakura, holding his hands up. He didn't know what had happened to her but knew that he shouldn't do anything that might upset her.

Recognising the sound of Naruto's whisper, Sakura raised her head. Tears fall thick and fast but she didn't say a word. Kneeling on the floor a couple of meters away from her, Naruto asked, "Are you hurt? Do you need first aid?"

Mutely, Sakura simply extended her left arm for Naruto to see. Naruto couldn't supress a hiss; her arm had been partially  _eaten._ Three bite marks right next to each other formed the largest wound on the outside of her forearm. A large chunk of flesh had been  _chewed_  off and bone was actually visible through that wound. On the inside of her wrist, another chunk of flesh was missing. Her left pinkie had been severed unevenly by human teeth.

Sakura began speaking in a monotone, her eye's dull. "I managed to stop the bleeding. He- He wouldn't stop Naruto. He ate my arm. He ate a part of me Naruto!"

Her eyes were losing their dullness. Naruto could see some of the panic she must have felt. Her voice started to shake and rise in pitch. "I had to use my arm to protect my face. I fought as hard as I could but it didn't matter. He just wouldn't stop!"

Sakura had lurched to her knees, becoming hysterical, "I stabbed him but it didn't work! He pinned me down and kept eating. I kept stabbing him over and over again but nothing worked. He was going to eat me-"

Naruto hugged Sakura and she stopped speaking, crying into his chest. Naruto was horrified but he had to stay strong for Sakura. Turning his head, Naruto saw Bull standing guard at the door. Trusting in the nin dog, Naruto stayed put, softly stroking her hair and letting Sakura get it all out.


	11. Chapter 11

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the balcony of his office. It gave people one of the best views of the village. Hiruzen was the picture of calm, watching the day go by while having a pleasant smoke. Hiruzen’s thoughts however were anything but calm.

He thought back to the mission report he had gotten from Kakashi. _‘This news about a strange transformation is disturbing. The lab said that Amp couldn’t give a user a transformation of any kind. It was just a chakra steroid._

_‘Kakashi was so lucky that he didn’t lose any of his team. He would crumble and probably request to resign as a sensei. I hope he doesn’t take this too hard._

_‘From what Reo said, the Stone and Cloud daimyo control the black market. Is this a new way for the ‘real’ rulers to exercise control over the people?’_

Hiruzen was tempted to just assume that to be the case but just this morning he had gotten information that cast doubt on that theory.

Even though they had been the genin team that Hiruzen had sent out first, Guy’s team was the last to return from their mission to search for traces of Amp. Guy had taken it upon himself to not only search the villages assigned to him, but every village located in the northern parts of Fire country. It had taken them an extra week to return.

When they had, Hiruzen had gotten Guy’s mission report. At a village just off the border, they had run into a genin team from Grass. Though the Grass had been friendly at first, things had turned sour when they realized Guy was searching for Amp.

A fight had ensued and one Grass genin had been captured. The captive genin was apparently linked quite heavily with the new drug. Something about a unique aspect of her chakra. She had been brought back to Konoha for questioning.

Her name turned out to be Karin Uzumaki and she wanted nothing more than to remain in Konoha. Word had spread like wildfire across the nations about the return of a boy named Naruto Uzumaki, son of the Fourth Hokage. Karin had heard Naruto’s name and wanted to meet the only other Uzumaki she had heard of. Hiruzen knew that he would have to hold a full debrief with the girl at a later date but the small amount of information that she gave turned out to be quite interesting.

When the fight had broke out, Karin had put up only a token resistance fighting Ten-Ten. Karin said that her village was jealous of the Great Nations and desired to be seen as their equal. Karin’s blood was a vital part of Amp; Apparently her Bloodline gave the drug the ‘kick’ to buff the chakra system.

What cast doubt on his theory about the Daimyo being behind it was when Karin told him about Grass forming an alliance with the new village Sound. Karin thought that Sound would probably want the same as Grass but she wasn’t sure. The only thing she was sure about was that Sound was behind the creation of Amp. Karin was sure since she had been taken to secret facility in Sound and had her blood drawn.

_‘Is Stone secretly bankrolling Grass and Sound? He can’t take direct action so he strikes from the shadows? Or does Sound have its own agenda? I wish we had more information on them but Sound is rather secretive. If Sound does have its own plans, it means that I will have to keep an eye on their genin when we hold the Chunin Exams later this year.’_

Too much was happening, too quickly. Hiruzen wanted nothing more than a foe in front of him that he could fight. Having kept his village as far from the political scene as he could in the past, Hiruzen lacked the experience fighting on this vastly different but very real battlefield. Softly spoken words could deal more damage than a kunai. Hiruzen ordered one of his ANBU to bring Danzo to see him.

_‘Danzo may wish my death but he also protects the village. Is it worth telling him about this organisation that secretly controls everything? It’s always risky giving Danzo information. I will also have to keep Karin out of his hands. Her Bloodline already makes her a target but if Naruto befriends his new found family member, Danzo will gain a lot of leverage over Naruto.’_

xXx

Naruto was used to silence but the silence that had settled in training ground seven was deafening. His whole team was sitting in the shade of the trees. Everyone had pensive expressions but no-one wanted to speak first.

Another minute passed when Kakashi coughed slightly, before clearing his throat.  “Guys, I just want to say I’m sorry. I should’ve gone with my instincts and not lead you down those stairs. If you wish to transfer to another sensei, I understand and won’t hold it against you.”

Naruto glanced at Sasuke. Sasuke wore a frown but it didn’t look like it was in response to what Kakashi had said. It also seemed like Sasuke was in no hurry to speak.

Looking to his left, Naruto saw that Sakura was biting her lip and looking at the ground. She glanced at her left arm, covered in bandages before looking back at the ground. Sakura didn’t appear to be in any hurry to talk either.

So, Naruto looked up and began in his stage whisper. “I’m good Kakashi. It was something that none of us could see coming. I want to stay on the team, I don’t _blame_ you.”

Relief showed in Kakashi’s eye. Nodding gratefully at Naruto, Kakashi lapsed back into silence. Another few minutes passed before Sasuke spoke up,

“I’ll stay to. You can help me with the Sharingan and you are one of the strongest fighters in the village. I would like some instruction in swordsmanship though.”

Again, Kakashi nodded gratefully. Almost as if Sakura couldn’t bear the others waiting for her to talk, she began in a soft voice. “I-I don’t know if I want to be a ninja anymore.”

That one statement seemed to suck all the air from the training ground. Since Sakura was looking at the ground, she missed the reaction to her words as she continued. “That was the worst experience of my life. I was being _eaten._ I- “

She paused, rubbing her left forearm subconsciously. “I’ve been disfigured. I have nightmares. I killed someone and now I’m just some kind of freak.”

The other members of team Seven looked at each other, hoping that someone else would respond first. Finally, Kakashi took it upon himself.

“Sakura, I can’t say I understand. I’ve never been eaten. However, I have more experience than anyone else here about killing. You are not a freak. You are just another ninja who was stuck in a horrible situation. I don’t think anyone here thinks any worse of you than they did before.”

Sasuke said that he actually thought Sakura was much better than she was at the start of the year.  Naruto gathered his thoughts for a minute before he spoke. “Sakura if you are a freak, then I am to. I wasn’t eaten but I was blinded and now carry the eyes of two people I consider my family. The scars on my face are the first thing people notice about me. You killed someone who was eating you but you still feel a little bad about it. You are a better person than me. I have killed, well I don’t remember the exact number but I don’t regret it like you. So, if you are a freak than what does that make me? A monster? A demon?

“You are a better person than me Sakura. I won’t stop you if you want to quit but listen. Every morning I wake up and see my scars in the mirror. I use my scars to remind me of my promise. A promise to become strong, strong enough to save my family and friends from death.

“Find something to drive you. Something that makes your sacrifice worthwhile.”

A slightly stunned quiet followed Naruto’s words. That was definitely the most he had ever said in one go. Sakura’s eyes had widened as she listened to Naruto and her jaw had fallen open in shock. Two days had passed since their mission and everyone Sakura had spoken treated her like she was made out of china. That Naruto hadn’t changed the way he treated Sakura meant more to her than she realised.

Sakura sat in deep thought for a long time, long enough for the shadows of the trees to change position but no one on team Seven minded. They would give Sakura as much time as she needed.

_‘Something to drive me? Well, all I know is that I never want something like that to happen to me again. I will become strong enough so that I won’t ever feel powerless again!’_

Sakura’s eyes shone with her new found determination.  She didn’t say her thoughts all she said was, “Thanks Naruto. Let’s get back to training!”

xXx

Ino was concerned for her teammate, Shikamaru. Ever since they had returned from their mission from Wave, Shikamaru had changed. Sure, Ino hadn’t heard exactly what Haku had said to him on the bridge but it couldn’t be that important, right?

Ino had been just as scared as Shikamaru when it looked like Choji had died but it seemed as though a fire had been lit inside of Shikamaru. He had thrown himself into training with a determination that surprised even Shikamaru’s father.

Ino didn’t ask Shikamaru about his change. Partly out of fear that she would be just as affected and partly because she was concerned that she might somehow revert Shikamaru back to being lazy. Say what you want but this new Shikamaru was a lot better when it came to being in a team.

Ino was supposed to be working the counter of her family’s flower shop but she was far too busy being pre-occupied with her own thoughts to worry about mundane things like the store.

The bell on the store’s door rang was it opened and Hinata Hyuga entered. Ino snapped back to reality, this was an opportunity to gossip.

“Hi Hinata! Have you seen Sakura? Did she tell you what happened to her? She wouldn’t tell me, no matter what I said.”

Hinata had barely taken five steps into the store before she was subjected to Ino’s interrogation. “Um, hello Ino. No, I haven’t seen Sakura. All I know is that Naruto’s team got back from a really dangerous mission.”

Ino knew that Hinata had a crush on Naruto but she was hoping that Hinata would have more information than that.

“Ah, that sucks. Well, have you seen Shikamaru? He’s changed so much since our last mission.”

“Um, I saw him yesterday. Shikamaru seemed fine to me. He was training, oh. Why was he training?”

Ino grinned. This was what she wanted. Someone to bounce ideas off of and to vent. Hinata watched Ino take a deep breath and couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of foreboding.

xXx

Sakura’s new found resolve changed team Seven in different ways. Kakashi was more determined than ever to turn his team into a truly terrifying force of nature. Naruto had always thrown himself into his training but now he made sure to include Sakura in her quest. Sasuke saw a potential rival form before his eyes and vowed to surpass Naruto before his female teammate.

Sasuke was satisfied for the moment however. Kakashi had introduced him to a Special Jonin named Hayate Gekko. The man turned out to be a highly skilled swordsman who quickly realised Sasuke’s natural talent with a sword.  Hayate’s constant coughing did little to lower Sasuke’s opinion of the man when he started teaching Sasuke the hidden techniques unique to Konoha.

Hayate had been very impressed with Sasuke’s sheer aptitude for the sword and focused on improving Sasuke’s speed so that he could produce afterimages. In time, Hayate would teach Sasuke the Dance of the Crescent Moon, his signature technique.

For his part, Sasuke was nursing a near constant headache. After the Amp had worn off, Sasuke suffered from head pain. _‘I guess this is why mother said drugs were so dangerous.’_

Sasuke wasn’t a fool. He quickly realised that his body wanted to return to the state of euphoria that it had felt but that was dangerous. He quickly asked his mother about drugs and saw the possibility of getting addicted to Amp.

_‘Two problems with that though. One, I don’t want to turn into some monster that eats people. Two, I only have four packets. I have to save at least one for my fight with Itachi. Preferably two. That only gives me two more shots to use and I can’t squander them, no matter how much I want to!’_

xXx

The damage from the bites had severe consequences for Sakura. She couldn’t form several hand signs correctly and her left handed grip was a lot weaker than before. Kakashi was initially stumped before he asked Guy to help train Sakura. Guy would be able to transform Sakura into someone scary.

However, her first order of business was to give herself a haircut. Back then, her long hair had been yanked, forcing her head back before being struck in the face. That wasn’t going to happen again. Her new hair was short, barely reaching her ear lobes.

Kabuto had also pointed out that Sakura still possessed the ability to use the medical scalpel and thus Sakura’s training became clear. Guy would turn Sakura into a speed and kicking demon while Kabuto would help refine Sakura’s healing while showing her how to use medical jutsu offensively.

The sheer amount of physical training that Guy put her threw surprised her but Sakura didn’t say a single word of protest. _‘I need this!’_

xXx

For his part, Naruto practised with Kurenai to improve his sensing abilities. He hadn’t forgotten how useless he would’ve been had Kakashi not summoned Bull. Team Eight took Naruto’s occasional participation in their stride. It actually felt good, Naruto had been the strongest of their class by a wide margin but he needed help from their sensei.

While he had the attention of Kurenai, Naruto also practised his genjutsu. It was his weakest skill but Naruto wasn’t going to neglect aspects of his training anymore.

It was another day with Naruto sitting in training ground eight trying to locate the positions of team eight by sense alone. He suddenly sensed Guy and someone he hadn’t sensed before approaching from the village.

Getting to his feet, Naruto turned to greet Guy and his companion. The person with Guy turned out to be a girl.  She had red hair, the left side appeared to be smooth while her right was slightly spiky. Red eyes had locked on Naruto’s face. She wore brown glasses and appeared to be Naruto’s height. She wore a tan shirt and a purple skirt.

“Naruto!” greet Guy, “It’s a pleasant day for training is it not? I have someone here that would like to meet you.” Guy gestured to the girl, encouraging her to speak.

She appeared nervous but managed to find her voice. “Hello. I’m Karin. I think we are family. I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I heard your name.”

Naruto was surprised. He wasn’t so surprised that he failed to sense team Eight enter the training grounds, it seemed as though they realised the exercise was over.

Naruto replied with his customary whisper, “What makes you think we are family? I can’t remember ever meeting you before?”

If Karin found the whispering odd, she didn’t show it. “Oh, sorry Naruto. Can I call you Naruto? My full name is Karin Uzumaki. We are members of the same clan.”

A strange warmth settled in Naruto’s chest but he couldn’t identify what it was. _‘An Uzumaki? Is it possible? Karin has red hair like mother.’_

Kiba gasped. Team Eight was out of normal hearing range but with his Inuzuka senses, he heard what Karin had said. Lacking any kind of concern for Naruto’s privacy, he immediately repeated what he had head to his team and sensei. He was than promptly thumped on his head by Kurenai for his lack of tact.

“You can call me Naruto,” Naruto replied to Karin’s question. “Is there a way to prove that you are an Uzumaki? I just don’t want to welcome someone from my clan if it turns out to be false.”

Karin’s eyes dimmed slightly. Naruto wasn’t being mean but it seemed like he wasn’t really excited. Karin had been so excited when she heard that another Uzumaki lived. Her mother had died just last year and Karin was convinced that she was the last member of their once great clan.

“Um, well I don’t anything I can do to prove it now. We could go to the hospital and get a blood test done. All I can say is that my mum was an Uzumaki and she filled my head with her stories of Uzo.”

Karin had started off very nervous but Naruto’s seeming indifference was grating her nerves and her temper was rising. Naruto was oblivious though as replied. “That’s a good idea.  Can we go right now? It would be nice to get this done soon.”

_‘Can’t Naruto even crack a smile? Appear to be happy to see another Uzumaki?!’_

Karin knew that she had a fierce temper. She tried to contain it, she wanted to make a good impression on Naruto but it was no use.

“You could at least pretend to be happy to have a new clan member!” She said in a loud, angry voice. “I came all this way to meet you. I finally find another family member but you don’t seem to care!”

It took a lot of effort to not hit Naruto but Karin managed. She just couldn’t understand why Naruto seemed so indifferent.

Naruto blinked at Karin’s outburst. He hadn’t intended to cause offense. Now his new found family was angry at him. Naruto gave a short, stiff bow before apologizing. “Karin. It was not my intent to annoy or anger you. I know I can appear cold but I really am happy to meet you. I’ll have to tell you all about it someday.”

Karin was suddenly all smiles. She was glad that Naruto had said that and she happily walked with Naruto towards the hospital, chattering away her anger forgotten.

As Guy and team Eight watched the Uzumaki’s depart, Guy turned to Kurenai and said. “Well, her personality is just like Kushina so I believe Karin is who she says she is.”

xXx

Neji Hyuga fell to his knees exhausted. Not even Guy managed to make training quite as tough as this but Danzo Shimura was a hard taskmaster. Neji had found the cryptic note underneath his pillow a few weeks ago and Neji hadn’t looked back since.

Danzo had explained that he was looking for ways to neutralize the Caged Bird seal and that he could turn Neji into the greatest Hyuga in history. Danzo then focused on teaching Neji other aspects to being a ninja and not have him focus on just the Gentle Fist.

It turned out that Neji had three Nature affinities and Danzo had instructed Neji in several jutsu in each nature.

_‘As soon as Danzo disables the Caged Bird seal, I will abandon ROOT. I will use Danzo for my own ends.’_

Neji had no idea that he was playing into Danzo’s hands. Neji desired freedom to change his destiny. Even if Neji happened to be a genius when it came to using his Byakugan and training but he had never had to deal with the level of manipulation that Danzo was capable of. Neji would willingly follow the bait that was his freedom all the way into ROOT and the shadows that came with it.

xXx

Kakashi didn’t normally drink. He personally didn’t see the appeal but this was an exception. He had led his team into danger and nearly lost Sakura. He managed to keep a straight face around his team but Kakashi was going through a particularly tough time.

Memories of his failures flared up and guilt overtook him. Kakashi knew that he should go talk to Inoichi but Kakashi really didn’t feel like it. The burning of alcohol was, at the moment, far more preferable.

Asuma suddenly sat on the stool next to Kakashi and signalled the bar tender for his usual. The two men drank in silence before Asuma spoke.

“Kakashi, I’m going to say this once. This is your first genin team. They are going to find danger, it’s gonna happen. I have trained two teams from genin to chunin and it never gets any easier.

“It’s the life of being a ninja, we all could die at any time, even genin. You know this. So, man up, stop moping and go train your team instead of foisting them off on other teachers.”

Kakashi was shocked. Asuma had never spoken to him like that before. Kakashi was sorely tempted to revert back to his old ways of bottling himself up but Kakashi had come to enjoy life as it was now and he took Asuma’s words to heart.

“Yeah... you’re right, Asuma. It’s a rookie mistake and I appreciate you calling me out on it.”

“You know, Kakashi, you’re not the only sensei this village has. If you need anything, we’d all be very happy to help you even if it’s just someone to chat to.” Kakashi appreciated his friend for being so blunt and excused himself.

Kakashi knew that Asuma was right. Kakashi did need to practice being more open with his friends. He needed to accept that he wouldn’t be there to protect his genin team forever, that in their line of work danger was just something that was always underlying. His genin team knew the perils and accepted to be ninja. Kakashi felt the difference his talk with Asuma had made had he hurried home. He had a new and rather brutal training session to plan for his team.

xXx

It had been four days since she had arrived in Konoha but Karin could barely believe her luck. Just a week ago, Karin had been alone. Her mum was dead and the people of her village shunned her as a foreigner. She had been forbidden from being a ninja and was stuck in the hospital, forced to use her Bloodline to heal. Karin was just thankful that no-one had thought to try and use her to 'recreate' the Uzumaki clan.

Now though, Karin found herself sitting in a park with her new found cousin Naruto. Karin was watching Naruto's adopted sister Eri play with Hanabi Hyuga and three other kids. The kids were currently racing around the park playing tag as Karin and Naruto watched from the shadow of a tree. Noodle had exhausted himself a while ago and had snuggled himself on Karin's lap.

"Naruto," Karin said, "What were the names of the other kids again? And how do you know them?"

Smiling slightly, Naruto explained. He told Karin how he had met Konohamaru one day in the Hokage's office. Naruto had stopped Konohamaru from attacking the Hokage and Naruto had earned the boys respect somehow. Udon and Moegi were Konohamaru's best friends and they had taken it upon themselves to stalk Naruto and ask him for training. The three of them were best friends and Konohamaru had called their group the 'Konohamaru Corp'.

Mikoto was more than happy to entertain the self-styled 'Konohamaru Corp'. She found Konohamaru's barely concealed crush on Eri absolutely adorable. It hadn't taken long for Eri to be inducted into the 'Corp' after that. Hanabi however, was far more reluctant to appear 'childish' but once Konohamaru questioned if the Uchiha were better than the Hyuga, since they had joined the 'Corp', Hanabi joined almost instantly.

That revelation made Karin laugh. She didn't really know much about Konoha or it's clans but her first meeting with Hanabi and her father had given Karin the impression that the Hyuga were rather controlled and polite but quite proud. That Hanabi was willing to act her age for the sake of proving her clan was better than another tickled Karin's funny bone.

Naruto got to his feet. "Well, it's been fun. I think I'll get back to some training-".

"Oh no you don't." Karin said. She leaned forward and grabbed Naruto's left wrist. "Remember what Mikoto said? You should take a break from training every now and then. Give yourself time to rest. I'll tell Mikoto and then you'll be in for it."

Naruto grumbled a little before sitting back down. The fact that Naruto was now sporting a big pout made Karin laugh again.  _'I hope he learns to enjoy taking a break. I haven't known him very long but Naruto works way too hard without thought about who he might be neglecting with his absence. I could tell Eri misses him by the way she lights up whenever Naruto gets back to the apartment block.'_

Karin had been allocated an apartment in the new building that had been build. Karin had been told that it was built to help protect the Uchiha clan after an attack on their district had resulted in some of their members being hospitalised. Though Karin had her own space, she spent a lot of her spare time in the apartment where Naruto lived with Mikoto, Sasuke and Eri. It was a good feeling, being in a home with people she was already starting to see as family.

Naruto eventually grew restless and got up to play with the kids. Karin was tempted to join in but Noodle was asleep and she just didn't have it in her to wake up the bundle of fur. As she watched Naruto chase the kids, warmth filled her.  _'Here I've found everything I wanted. I hope you can see where I am now mum.'_

xXx

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the wood. He had spent most of the day trying to decide if he was going to follow through on his plan.  _'Who dares wins right?'_

Making up his mind, Onoki called for his grand-daughter, Kurotsuchi, to be brought to his office. Once she entered Onoki steepled his fingers and gave Kurotsuchi a cheeky grin. "Ah Kurotsuchi, it's about time. I have a new mission for you, one that is very important for our village."

Joy lit up Kurotsuchi's pink eyes. She had sat down in a chair in front of the desk as Onoki had explained. When she heard the news, she clapped her hands; she had been couped up in the village for the last month and was looking forward to some freedom. "What is it, old man? I hope it's dangerous."

Onoki was so eager to explain that he ignored her jab at his age. "I am going to send you to Konoha to take part in the next Chunin Exams. You are to ignore the Exams entirely and assassinate Naruto Uzumaki. He is the son of that cursed 'Yellow Flash' and our fallen brothers demand vengeance."

Surprise showed on Kurotsuchi's face. This wasn't what she had in mind when she had been told that she had a mission. "What about Konoha's response? Surely they won't appreciate the death of their Fourth Hokage's son. Will it lead to war?"

Onoki smirked as he leaned back on his chair. "They can't. Every genin signs a waiver when the Second Stage takes place. Essentially, it removes all responsibility for a genin's death. Just bid your time and pass the First Stage. Generally, all Chunin Exams have some kind of large scale event to thin out the number of competitors. You will strike in the confusion and no-one will be able to do anything in retaliation."

Kurotsuchi nodded before she frowned. "That's all said and good grandfather but you are forgetting one thing. I'm already a Chunin. Hell, I'm on the fast track for Jonin. I can't be sent on this mission."

Onoki's smirk grew even larger. "Oh that's no problem. As the Third Tsuchikage, I hear by demote you to the rank of genin as punishment for insulting me about my age."

Kurotsuchi exploded out of her chair. "What!? You can't do that! I earned my rank. I have completed more missions than any other Chunin in our village!"

Leaning forward, Onoki placed both of his arms on his desk. His expression had changed to one of grim determination. "Kurotsuchi, listen to me. You never got to meet him but your uncle Heihachi died by the hands of Namikaze. I lost a son that day and this is a chance to kill Namikaze's son in kind." he said the name Namikaze with venom. Taking a breath, he continued.

"This is a mission of utmost priority and secrecy. The team that you will go with won't be informed. This is an S ranked mission and when you return with a successful mission, I will promote you to jonin. Do you understand why this is so important, not just for me but our people?"

Kurotsuchi nodded. She didn't like being demoted but she was a proud member of the Hidden Stone. Her people had been slaughtered in the Third Shinobi War and this was a chance to avenge them. She  _had_ to do this.

"I understand grandfather. When do I leave and who is on my team?"

Sliding over a folder across his desk, Onoki said, "Aya Takemura will be the jonin sensei. He is skilled but expendable. While genin sign waivers and aren't held responsible for their actions, the Leaf may detain him for questioning. You will also get two actual genin to form your team. They are needed to help sell the inexperience and innocence genin need before you complete you mission. Their survival would be best but it's not a priority.

"Since the Exams are next month, you will leave in two days. It's better to get there a little early and scout out the area."

Kurotsuchi nodded again. She left the office without saying goodbye. It was her style; farewells implied just that, farewell. In her mind, it was already admitting the possibility of defeat and she didn't fail.

Onoki watched his granddaughter leave with mixed feelings. Sure, the chance to legally kill the spawn of Minato Namikaze was too great to ignore but he was also risking the death of Kurotsuchi. While she couldn't technically be held liable, Onoki couldn't predict how the Leaf would react.

' _This is personal though; my blood will end Namikaze's line. In the end, Stone outlives the tree and the leaves that grow on it!'_

xXx

Kakashi watched his team train with pride. True to his word, Kakashi had raised the bar when it came to training. He had started them on elemental techniques when the other teams were still on basic tactics and skills.  _'Why some of the genin teams are still working on tree walking is beyond me.'_

Sasuke turned out to have an affinity for Lightning and Fire. Kakashi had taught Sasuke several techniques for both natures as well as how to channel Lightning through his sword.  _'I'll hold off on the Chidori for now. It's too dangerous, not to mention that Sasuke has nowhere near the speed needed for it. Something to work on'_

Sasuke had caused a small amount of friction with Naruto when he had used Lightning chakra for his Body Flicker. It turned out to be far faster than Naruto's and though Naruto hadn't said anything, Kakashi could tell that this irked Naruto that Sasuke was now faster then he was with his specialty. Sure, Sasuke couldn't use the Flicker like Naruto. He just didn't have the chakra reserves for it but that didn't seem to matter to Naruto.

Though Sakura had an Earth affinity, the fact that she was missing a pinkie meant that she had great difficulty in using hand signs. Even so, Kakashi managed to teach Sakura the Underground Movement jutsu. This gave her the ability to attack or evade underground. Unfortunately, that was the limit on the ninjutsu that Kakashi was able to teach her. Kakashi still spent time with her though, polishing up her taijutsu skills.  _'I should talk to Guy about upping the limit on her training weights. She's now moving around as if she isn't wearing them. That's impressive since she is wearing twelve kilos on each leg. Her resolve sure is something'_

Naruto told Kakashi that he already knew his affinities, Wind and Fire. Kakashi didn't know that many Wind jutsu's but still managed to teach Naruto the Vacuum Sphere and Gale Palm. Kakashi had noted that Naruto usually used his Wind to enhance his fire attacks. This gave Naruto a new way to tackle opponents with a new element. Kakashi knew that Naruto only had a Wind affinty. The results from the chakra paper showed that and Kakashi guessed that the Fire came from Naruto's tenant. He didn't question Naruto about it since the other two had been there when it happened.

However, the bulk of Naruto's focus was on improving his Flicker. He has been most put out by Sasuke's Lightning Flicker. Naruto first practised using his Flicker by turning it smokeless and soundless. Although he succeeded on both counts, it wasn't enough for Naruto. Naruto used his Fire nature with his Flicker. Though it wasn't as fast as Lightning, it provided a much bigger 'kick'. This meant that he could use less chakra than he had before.  _'And he already has monstrous reserves.'_

Naruto didn't have his breakthrough until he used Wind with his Flicker. This turned out to out speed Sasuke's Lightning flicker but it was much harder to control.  _'Perhaps the Flicker takes on the aspects of the element used. Lightning is fast and precise. Fire bursts with energy and Wind speeds up a Flicker like a cyclone, a powerful but uncontrollable force of nature. It's Something for Naruto to work on.'_

Calling his team over, Kakashi said. "Okay team, the Chunin Exams are next month. I know that you are rookies but I have faith that you will do well. I probably already know the answer but do you want to enter?"

The question had barely left his lips when he received three nods from his genin. Smiling, Kakashi said "Alright, I'll go let the Hokage know. Keep up the hard work, watch each other's backs and you will be fine. Take the rest of the day off, you've earned it. Besides, tomorrow, I expect each of you to be here at six am, ready for a full day of training."

xXx

Sakura used her free time to go shopping. She wanted to change her outfit from the red dress she wore to something more practical. She changed her thigh length green tights for full length black tights. They gave a lot of movement and also helped her blend in better. She chose a simple dark green, long sleeved shirt. She decided to tape her calves and display her training weights proudly. There was no way she was going to wear those orange leg warmers that Guy and Lee wore.

As Sakura walked down the street towards her home, she heard her name get called. Turning, Sakura saw Ino approaching. "Hey Sakura. Wow, like the new look. Why did you get a haircut? I thought you loved your long hair. How are Naruto and Sasuke?"

Sakura blinked as she listened to Ino's barrage of questions.  _'Was I really like this?'_

Shrugging, Sakura replied, "Thanks. I did like my long hair but it caused me problems. An enemy grabbed it and yanked it back. That caused my face to be revealed and then get hit. My team is good. We are training harder than ever."

Ino nodded. She glanced Sakura up and down, looking at the new Sakura. Seeing the leg weights, Ino shook her head. "Sakura, why are you using leg weights? Too much of that and you will turn into some muscle bound girl."

Sakura felt herself getting annoyed. "Ino, it's time to grow up. We thought being ninja would be so fun but it's not. It's dangerous and you should focus more on getting stronger than on how you look."

Sakura rolled up her left sleeve. She held her arm up in front of Ino's face. "This is what happens when we don't take the shinobi life seriously. My arm was eaten Ino.  _Eaten!_ I would've died and been eaten if I hadn't killed that monster first."

Ino was horrified. Sakura's arm was still slightly pink and the healed scar tissue had warped her forearm completely. It was a terrible wound and Ino was shocked speechless. Sakura decided that was enough for one day and unrolled her sleeve. "See ya round Ino. I hope you take what I said to heart."

Sakura left Ino standing in the middle of the street.  _'I wonder how much stronger I am than Ino now.'_


	12. Chapter 12

The humidity of the Forest of Death had caused team Seven to start sweating about a minute after entering it. That had been yesterday but it didn't look like the heat was going to let up.

Ever since the Second Stage had started team Seven had crossed a lot of ground. It was a compromise between what Sasuke and Naruto wanted. Sasuke had wanted to find an enemy team as quickly as possible. He said it made more sense to complete the task as quickly as possible. Naruto thought it would be best to bid their time and take an enemy unawares. There were less variables to worry about in an ambush.

Sakura suggested that they head towards the tower in the middle and get as close as they could on the first day. The next day, team Seven would set a trap and wait for someone to trigger it. It soothed Sasuke's need for action as well as Naruto's caution.

Jumping from tree to tree, they had made good progress. About twenty minutes after they had agreed to the plan they had spied the Genin team from the Hidden Sand. Sasuke had been prepared to attack but Naruto put his foot down. It had taken some time since Naruto was rather cagey with his reasoning but apparently the red head called Gaara gave Naruto an uneasy feeling.

Sasuke hadn't been impressed with that and the only thing that placated him was Sakura saying that they would attack the next team they saw, regardless of what Naruto said. That was made easier since Naruto said the only team that gave him that uneasy feeling was the one from Sand and that he was quite happy with Sakura's suggestion. Though they didn't see anyone else for the rest of the day.

Today was going to be different however. Sasuke was itching for action and Naruto was in full agreement. A rushed breakfast followed and team Seven set a very simple trap. It was designed to be obvious and any foes that saw it should see it and make attempts to avoid it. They set traps higher up in the trees as well as the nearby area. Team Seven made efforts to hide these counter traps and if an enemy team got caught, that would be great however the second layer of traps were more bait. Team Seven would be hiding in the top most branches of the trees and relying on Naruto's Byakugan for intel.

Once a team saw both layers of traps they would hopefully take a moment to assess their situation. As they paused in what they thought was a safe area, Sasuke and Naruto would use their elemental Flickers and take them off guard. Sakura would follow as fast as she could but ideally, she wouldn't be needed.

xXx

Kurotsuchi was getting antsy. The first day had gone by but she hadn't managed to find the Uzumaki. She had thought about abandoning her inexperienced squad mates in favour of her mission but her Will of Stone won out.

Kurotsuchi had been raised to respect the life of her villagers as well as to hate the name of Namikaze. She had dutifully followed her grandfather's teachings but sometimes she found it hard to hate someone she had never met.  _'Grandfather wouldn't approve of that thought. Now I've got to kill a boy that hadn't even been born when my uncle died. What do I do?'_

Kurotsuchi was a girl with many talents. She had been born with three nature types and was supposed to unlock her Lava Release soon. She was easily the strongest fifteen year old in her village but she wasn't the cold hearted killing machine that Onoki had trained her to be.

Gen, one of her squad mate's, pointed out an incredibly obvious trap. Kurotsuchi's senses were tingling and she immediately cast her gaze to the area around them. She managed to spot another layer of traps.

' _Those are more well hidden than the one in front of us. I guess we were supposed to avoid the obvious but was the second layer the real threat? It can't be it's too obvious-'_

Kurotsuchi snapped at her teammates to fall back. It was a double layered trap and despite her mission, she didn't want to see her team die.

The words had barely left her lips when her instincts told her to dodge. She ducked close to the ground as a kick sailed through the air that her head had just occupied. She planted both hands on the ground to brace herself before pushing off and kicking at the same time. Her right foot connected with someone but she didn't look to see the damage.

Looking up, Kurotsuchi saw one of her team go down at hands of an enemy ninja who happened to have blonde hair. Gen, bless his heart, tried to attack but was taken down in two swift strikes. One to his torso and the other to his neck.

As Kurotsuchi got to her feet, Gen's attacker turned and she saw the face of the person she had been assigned to kill, scars and whisker marks obvious in the available light. Experience told her that her team wasn't dead but it didn't cool any of her anger.

With a soft growl, she lunged at the Uzumaki and began a series of complex attacks. The file she had been given stated that he possessed both the Sharingan and the Byakugan so she knew that it was risky getting close to him but she hadn't forgotten the person she had kicked.

Not knowing whether or not they had been incapacitated; Kurotsuchi chose to make some distance from the enemy behind her. She had faith in her taijutsu skills but was looking for a chance to break away and get both of her enemies in front of her.

Instinct saved her again as she dodged another strike. This time it was an enemy from above with a downwards punch. The impact caused a medium sized crater to form in the earth but this gave Kurotsuchi the opportunity she was looking for. The arrival of her third attacker forced Uzumaki to stop his attack.

Gaining ground, she began a flurry of hand signs. "Earth Release: Rapid Rising." The ground underneath her began to rise as a pillar. Several spikes of stone lanced out from the rising earth and shot at the enemy team. Her elevated position allowed her to see all of her enemies. Looked like she had kicked a boy into a tree and temporality dazed him. He was back in the fight however and looking quite angry.

Using her positional advantage; she launched another Earth jutsu. Large slabs of rock flew through the air but Kurotsuchi didn't entertain any hope that it would make contact. If they were good enough to set that trap, they were good enough to dodge a D ranked jutsu. Kurotsuchi probably could've finished her mission then and there if she had used her more dangerous jutsu but she didn't want to kill innocent Genin if she could help it.

Jumping down, she fell back a little. Kurotsuchi wasn't willing to allow them to surround her. She felt slight tremors through the earth and she rolled to her left. The third assailant erupted from the ground fist first. It was a clever attack but it didn't work and Kurotsuchi kicked them in the side of the head. The kick dazed them but she didn't have enough time to knock them out.

Uzumaki had arrived with a Flicker and let off a burst of fire.  _'No hand signs for his attack. I guess he is better than reported.'_

Kurotsuchi used her speed to dodge the flames. She ran towards the person who had traveled through the ground, intending to knock them out and make the numbers more even. A blur appeared in her peripheral vision and she was forced to dodge once again.

It was the boy she had kicked at the start. He used a simple Lightning attack. She sensed that the attack didn't use a lot of chakra but it was accurate and had no chance of hitting his team mate.

' _If I could just take out one of them! This would be so much easier. None of them can hold a candle to my raw power but their teamwork is ridiculous. Honestly, these guys could be Chunin._

' _I don't want to kill Uzumaki's teammates but if this keeps dragging on I might not have a choice.'_

Suddenly, a new enemy appeared before everyone. Although they wore a Grass headband, Kurotsuchi's sense of danger began to spike. This was getting dangerous. She didn't know who this Grass ninja was but her senses were never wrong. This person was deadly and she wasn't about to risk her neck unnecessarily.

She wanted to avenge her uncle but chose to survive. She dropped a smoke bomb and fled back towards her fallen team. Using a transformation jutsu, she turned her squad into small rocks before leaving with all haste.

' _If I can pass the Second Stage, I may get a chance to finish my mission during the Finals. I need my team with me to pass though.'_

xXx

Naruto wasn't sure what to make of his situation. The girl he had been fighting was dangerous, anyone could see that. That she had fled without hesitation the second another enemy appeared spoke volumes. Naruto's Byakugan could see this new foe had larger chakra reserves than anyone in the Exam; in fact, they were closer in size to Jiraiya. That put Naruto on guard.

"Guys, take this guy seriously. He is really bad news. That's why that other girl ran, she could sense it to."

Naruto's words took effect and he saw his team stiffen their stances. Their new foe chuckled creepily before speaking, "That's not very nice. I'm just an innocent little Genin, trying to get promoted like you."

The tone of his voice set Naruto's skin crawling. It was too silky, too… dangerous. This new enemy reached up and grabbed some of the skin on their face. It began to tear away as they spoke again. "I'm curious though. Just how skilled are you? You held your own fairly well against Onoki's brat."

Not giving team Seven any kind of warning, the Grass ninja attacked Naruto. Naruto figured out that he was outclassed after just a few seconds of fighting. This person was  _toying_ with him. That didn't make any sense, if they were part of the Exam, someone should try to win as fast as possible. That meant that this Grass ninja either wasn't part of the Exam or didn't care about it.

Sasuke fired off another Lightning jutsu but this was meant to be a distraction. Sakura had tunneled back underground and would take their opponent by surprise. That was the plan but it didn't work. The Grass ninja blurred out of sight and appeared behind Sasuke. After hitting Sasuke with a kick strong enough to send him flying backwards into a tree, the Grass ninja made a mud clone. "Keep the Uchiha busy while I test the Uzumaki."

Sakura chose that moment to pop out of the ground. The Grass ninja stepped back and avoided her punch. Grabbing Sakura by the shoulders, he turned and threw her into the surrounding trees. He summoned a large snake and told it to have some fun; the snake took off after Sakura.

This had happened before Naruto had been able to interfere. Now he was stuck facing someone he was sure he couldn't beat. Kurama spoke up,  **"Naruto. This isn't the first time we have gone up against over whelming odds. Focus, we can do this."**

Naruto forced himself to take a deep breath.  _'Kurama's right. I need to focus. With his help, I can do this.'_

xXx

Orochimaru hadn't felt a rush like this in years. The things Kabuto had told him about the Uzumaki and Uchiha brats were very promising. After a slight hiccup at the start, the Uzumaki had found his feet and attacked with more precision and ferocity.

' _Elemental Flickers with alternating steps. He has found a way to use both of his ocular powers at the same time. A unique fighting style that looks superior to the Gentle Fist. This Uzumaki is a goldmine._

' _If he didn't have the Fox inside of him, I would definitely pick him as my new host. The seal that Minato used should theoretically keep the beast at bay as I take over the boy's body. I need to run some tests before I try though. It would be a shame to find a perfect host only for my soul to be consumed by the Nine Tailed Fox._

' _Uzumaki has piqued my interest though. If nothing else, he would make a good test subject. I could resurrect the Uzumaki clan and gain access to their fabled Bloodlines. I could also get a source of Demonic chakra and get to study its effects on normal people._

' _Not to mention the biggest factor. Kabuto reported that the hospital had been charged with the care of an enemy that had been reduced to a vegetative state. Rumor was that the Uzumaki was responsible. It wasn't revealed how but apparently the Yamanaka clan hadn't made any headway in their interrogation. The only thing Kabuto was sure of was that the Uzumaki hadn't touched the man.'_ The mystery of how it had happened almost had Orochimaru drooling.

The Uzumaki had been incredibly inventive with his attacks. Combining his proficiency for the Flicker with his elements and fighting style. Factor in the fact that he had a matured Sharingan that managed to track his speed and Orochimaru actually found himself on his toes a little. Oh, the Uzumaki wouldn't be able to beat him on his worst day but with a soft nudge in the right direction, Uzumaki would grow into a truly terrifying force of nature.

A pair of hands suddenly reached up out the dirt and grabbed Orochimaru's ankles. Orochimaru had seen the attack coming but decided to let it play out. He wanted to see where it went.

The Uzumaki used another Flicker and appeared in front of him. The sound of burning reached Orochimaru's ears and he recognized the sound of an exploding tag being activated. Uzumaki pulled up the bottom of his shirt slightly and Orochimaru saw at least a dozen tags there.

Orochimaru was trying to figure out if the brat was suicidal when the Uzumaki in front of him liquefied into oil a split second before the exploding tags detonated. The resultant explosion was massive but Orochimaru had dodged it by using his unique Body Replacement technique. The back of his old body split open and Orochimaru slipped out and escaped the large explosion. It was one of a kind but it did cost a lot of chakra.

Uzumaki didn't give Orochimaru any time to rest. A Wind Flicker meant that even Orochimaru was forced to rely on his instincts and experience to react in time. That particular Flicker was far too fast, especially for a mere Genin.

This Uzumaki turned out to be another oil clone as the real Uzumaki fired an attack that combined Wind, Fire and Oil. The inferno was too hot but Orochimaru had no problem dodging it. It turned out to be a feint however since the Uzumaki had managed to read his dodge.

The patch of ground Orochimaru had chosen to dodge to was covered in shuriken the instant Orochimaru got there. He was able to weave around most of the projectiles but was forced to catch one.

' _That he was able to get me to use my Body Replacement at all is impressive. His instincts and experience are on point; I wonder how he got them? I've seen his potential but now I've got to test the Uchiha before the Leaf discover what I did to the actual Genin team from Grass.'_

Orochimaru gathered chakra before using his actual fighting speed. Naruto may have been able to see him but didn't have the reflexes to do anything about it. Roughly grabbing the bottom of Uzumaki's shirt, Orochimaru lifted it up until the seal that kept the Fox at bay was visible. "Five Elements Seal!"

The boy coughed up blood before groaning in pain. He fell to the floor unconscious as Orochimaru turned, eager to test the Uchiha's mettle.

xXx

Sasuke knew that he was in trouble. Nothing he did made mattered, the foe in front of him managed to dodge or counter everything he did. The sense of accomplishment that he had felt dispatching the mud clone had been smashed to pieces when Sasuke was forced to admit to himself that the clone had probably been taking it easy on him, if the strength of the original was anything to go by.

"I'm disappointed little Uchiha. I had been led to expect far more from you. You are far weaker than I imagined."

Anger filled Sasuke but he didn't respond.  _'Weak?! I'll show him my power!'_

Sasuke pulled out the one packet of Amp that he had allowed himself to carry. Snorting the powder, the relief that the euphoria gave completely engulfed Sasuke and he felt power rush through his veins.

The Grass ninja's eyes had widened when Sasuke had used Amp but as Sasuke stood up, the Grass ninja laughed. Though the sound of it gave him goose bumps, Sasuke attacked.

Lightning surged through his sword as Sasuke used his new found speed to slice at the Grass ninja. The Grass ninja jumped away, standing sideways on a tree to Sasuke's right. Sasuke didn't miss beat, he threw several kunai laced with Lightning at the Grass ninja.

Sasuke read the dodge that the Grass ninja would make. Seeing that he would land on the branch that Sasuke was currently standing on but behind him Sasuke readied himself.

With his Sharingan giving Sasuke the timing needed, he used a Lightning Flicker while also swinging his Lightning clad sword in a horizontal swing. This resulted in a slice that occurred at the speed of his Flicker.

The sword hit true and Sasuke felt his sword cut through flesh as his Flicker ended with Sasuke standing still with his sword held up at the end of its swing. Turning, Sasuke saw the Grass ninja's body split at the waist and the top half fell to the branch with a sound of finality.

Sasuke sheathed his sword. He needed to go help his team before the Amp faded away. As he turned his back on the body, the sound of laughter made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Whirling back around, Sasuke saw the Grass ninja extricate himself from the upper part of his former body. As the Grass ninja stood upright, he said, "Good. I never thought that two Genin would force me to use my special Body Replacement Technique. The fact that you use Amp is also a pleasant discovery.

"You have my interest, Sasuke Uchiha."

The Grass ninja's neck extended at a speed that Sasuke couldn't react to. He let out a moan of pain as Orochimaru bit his neck. Unbeknownst to Sasuke, a black, circular mark formed near the bite.

Pain filled Sasuke's body and he fell to his knees. The Grass ninja spoke again, "My name is Orochimaru. Come find me when you desire more power. Here, a gift. It's the latest strain of Amp that I have put together. It's far more potent than the previous model."

Sasuke's eyes began to droop as he fought off unconsciousness. It proved to be futile however and as Sasuke collapsed face first onto the branch. With the darkness gathering on the edges of his vision, he felt the Grass ninja put the Amp in his pocket before speaking again.

"I expect great things from you Sasuke."

It was the last thing he heard before passing out.

xXx

Naruto was no stranger to nightmares. He had been having them for years. He kept them to himself because he didn't want people to worry or think that he was a wimp.

This nightmare was different. For one thing, Naruto had always been able to wake up and escape but he couldn't do that now. Another difference was that usually his nightmares consisted of watching his friends from the Pit dying. It didn't matter that Naruto hadn't personally seen any of them die, his imagination always filled in the blanks; Hitomi's death was always the worst.

This time, the faces of each person Naruto had killed swam around him in the indistinct blackness of this dream. Each face flashed before his eyes, their faces filled with fear or hatred. Their mouths spoke but no sound ever came out. Naruto wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

The dream changed then. He was drowning in an ocean of blood. Naruto began trying to swim for the surface but the glimmer of sunlight never came any closer. This would be the point where he would normally wake up but he didn't.

Blood filled his lungs and Naruto was struggling for breath but his body refused to wake up. During the worst nightmares Kurama would be able to sense Naruto's distress and channel his chakra to wake Naruto up, similar to breaking a genjutsu. Kurama wasn't doing that this time, even though Naruto wanted nothing more than to wake up at this moment. Would there be no end to this nightmare?

The ocean of blood began to drain; almost as if someone had pulled out a plug. With the blood draining, Naruto was able to break through the surface and take a desperate gasp of air. Looking up, Naruto could see the faces of everyone who was important to him glowing in the night sky. Seeing them gave Naruto the strength to fight the current and keep himself afloat.

' _As long as I have them; I will always fight.'_

xXx

Ino had not been having a good day. She had woken up covered in sweat due to the humidity only to find that a bug was in her hair. Then Shikamaru had taken charge again and pushed them to cover a lot of distance without a break for several hours.

All those problems paled in comparison when Ino saw the state her best friend Sakura was in. Sakura was battered and bruised with blood trickling from the left corner of her mouth. The fact that she had managed to protect her team with help from a guy in green spandex made no difference.

Just as Ino was about to question Sakura she heard footsteps and she saw Naruto and Sasuke walking towards them from the cave. All of team Seven looked like they had had the worst beatdown of their lives.

Sakura explained how the sudden appearance of a Grass ninja had taken their team apart with ease. How she had sought shelter for her passed out teammates and finally how she had defended her team from the Genin team from Sound. Sakura was quick to point out that she probably would've lost if Lee hadn't turned up when he had; even with all of her extra training. Three on one were odds that were just too much for her.

Ino noticed how Shikamaru tensed when Sakura described how her squad had been defeated. She didn't know why but anything that made him uneasy made her uneasy. Shikamaru might've been the laziest person she knew but she also knew that Shikamaru was pretty smart.

Neither Sasuke or Naruto said much. Both clearly had something on their minds and didn't contribute to the conversation. Naruto did manage to gather his thoughts enough to thank Lee for helping them out and promise him a spar when the Exams were over.

Lee said that it wasn't a problem and hurried off to find his team. Team Ten also made their excuses and took their leave. Shikamaru did suggest that everyone make their way to the tower as quickly as possible.

xXx

Kakashi would never admit it to anyone but he was getting antsy. Three days had passed during the second stage and his team hadn't got to the tower yet. Kakashi had faith in his team's strength, they were clearly the strongest Genin team in Konoha but anything could've gone wrong. Therefore, the tingling sensation of being reversed summoned by the Heaven and Earth scrolls was a blessing.

His good mood at seeing his team pass the Second Stage soured when he saw the condition they were in and their explanation as to why. Kakashi immediately escorted them inside the tower before sealing the cursed mark that Sasuke had been given.

Kakashi wasn't sure how to deal with the Five Elements Seal that Orochimaru had used on Naruto but he was quick to report it to the Hokage.

The last two days of the Exams passed by and the teams that had managed to pass were gathered to an area. They were told that since too many Genin had passed, a single round of randomly selected one vs one matches would be held.

Looking around, Kakashi saw that Asuma and Guy's teams had passed. Teams Baki, Stone and Sound had passed as well.  _'Looks like Kurenai's team didn't make the cut. Well, they were rookies after all, still that's going to hurt their pride. The only team from their class to fail the second stage.'_

The first fight was announced and everyone turned to look at the screen. Kakashi felt a little bump in his throat appear as he read, 'Naruto Uzumaki vs Neji Hyuga.'

 

xXx

Kurama was no stranger to frustration. It was one of many emotions that had dominated his life since Hashirama Senju had sealed him away. That didn't make it any easier watching through Naruto's eyes how hard Naruto was being forced to fight the Hyuga boy.

They had been comrades for far too long to be held back by some prideful little punk with an inferiority/superiority complex.

Kurama could see just how hard Naruto was being pushed without access to Kurama's chakra reserves.  _ **'I should tell him to train himself to fight without my assistance. He has gotten by so far by having access to more chakra than anyone else alive. If I know Naruto though, he has already figured that out.**_

' _ **I can't do anything here. I hope Jiraiya returns soon. Hopefully he can undo what that Grass ninja did to the seal and take this muzzle off me.'**_

xXx

Naruto had spent too much of his past perfecting his poker face to let anything slip but he was worried. If Kurama hadn't been sealed away by that Grass ninja it would've been easy to defeat Neji but without his friend, it was proving to be quite a challenge.

Neji had improved dramatically since their last bout and Naruto would probably have lost already if he didn't have the Sharingan and its ability to predict movements. Naruto had gotten too used to being able to brute force his way through his problems with the amount of chakra available to him.

Neji had drastically changed the way he fought, using Gentle Fist to complement his elemental jutsu. Without Kurama and his chakra reserves, Naruto knew that he should try to end the fight as quickly as possible but Neji wasn't making it easy.

Naruto knew that Neji often sparred with Lee without his weights on and that Neji had excellent reflexes. This meant that Naruto couldn't just use a Flicker right behind Neji and take him off guard. Normally in that case, Naruto would've gained some distance and fought Neji with his ninjutsu but that wasn't an option now. Without Kurama, Naruto didn't have access to the Fire element, only Wind. Neji knew Water and Earth defensive jutsus to counter Naruto's Wind and that wasn't mentioning Neji's Rotation as well.

' _I know he has a limit on his visual range like me but I'm confined to the arena. I can't fight him mid-range and he's polished his Gentle Fist enough so that I don't have a distinct advantage there; he's more fluid with his footwork now._

' _If I could use a Wind Flicker consistently well then I might be fast enough to take Neji off guard. The problem is that it's still too hard for me to control. Maybe I can use the basics of Sealing jutsu here.'_

Naruto had been taught the basics of Sealing by both Jiraiya and Karin. Naruto knew that there was a big risk using Sealing in the middle of fight; it took valuable time writing or designing a seal but Naruto didn't see any other viable option. The best part about Seals were that generally, they didn't use a lot of chakra. The more complicated and dangerous ones did but all the basic ones that Naruto knew cost almost nothing.

As Naruto began to mentally draw the seal he wanted to use in his mind, Neji began monologuing.  _'Seems like Neji hasn't lost that, even if he's gotten stronger.'_

Ignoring Neji's words, Naruto finished working on his plan. Taking advantage of the fact that Kurama's chakra was no longer helping him, Naruto used a kunai to stab his right palm to draw blood. With Kurama locked away, the wound didn't immediately heal. Crouching, Naruto drew the basic sign for a storage seal with the blood from his right palm. He altered it with a line to affect chakra and to use his blood as the activation key.

Neji hadn't dropped his guard but made no effort to attack or stop Naruto. Naruto looked up to check on Neji and heard a few brief words from Neji. "-as I'm a branch member I'm fated to be nothing more than a servant. Regardless of my talent my life is defined by this mark of my forehead. We are nothing more than pawns in the hands of Fate-"

Naruto looked back to his work and ignored Neji once again. Naruto finished his seal and used a Flicker to a spot roughly 4 meters behind Neji. After making sure that Neji only turned to face Naruto and kept up his speech, Naruto drew the same seal with his blood. Once that was done, all Naruto had to do was attach the seals with his blood to activate his seal. Naruto coated some wire with his blood. Using a kunai to secure one end of the wire to the second seal he had drawn, Naruto stood while holding the rest of the wire in his right hand.

' _I have to get this wire to the first seal. Once I do, the seals will activate and the wire connecting the two seals will catch Neji and 'store' his chakra away. Unfortunately, it looks like Neji has finished his spiel. I'll have to put myself at risk to make sure everything goes to plan.'_

Naruto grit his teeth and braced himself for some punishment. Naruto used another Flicker and appeared directly behind Neji. Naruto made sure to loop the wire on the floor in a circle around Neji. Neji was astute enough to notice the wire but didn't see the need to worry; it was just wire after all. What could wire do when compared to the might of the Hyuga and his own genius?

Taking his stance, Neji looked at Naruto before saying, "You are in my range. Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

After taking four hits, Naruto realized that Neji would be targeting his chakra points while increasing the number of his strikes, probably up to sixty four strikes. Naruto used his Sharingan to read Neji's movements and predict which point Neji was targeting each time but even with the Sharingan, Naruto wasn't quite able to avoid all of Neji's strikes. Had Naruto been more familiar with the technique, he probably would've had more success dodging. Due to his inexperience, and that chakra points were quite numerous and close together, Naruto was less than one hundred percent successful.

After Neji's attack finished, Naruto staggered back. He had managed to keep his most vital chakra points safe which allowed him to stay standing but roughly thirty five or so points had been forced closed by Neji.

Neji straightened and watched Naruto smugly. If he wanted Naruto to give some indication of pain he was going to be disappointed however since all Naruto did was retreat until he got back to the first seal that he had drawn.

After he pulled the wire tight, catching Neji around his calves, Naruto swiftly crouched and placed his right palm on the first seal with the wire making contact. Both seals glowed and Neji gave a grunt of pain as his chakra was siphoned away and stored inside Naruto's storage seals.

Naruto would've used the stored chakra to replenish his own reserves but he didn't know how to reverse the storage seal yet. Neji knew that he was in danger and used the Gentle Fist to sever the wire and stop the seals from working. Even though Neji had worked as quickly as he could, the seals had managed to steal almost all of his chakra.

Both fighters locked eyes and they made their way towards each other. Since both of them were near the point of chakra exhaustion, they knew that the only way to settle things was hand to hand. As they engaged, Naruto quickly gained the upper hand. The Gentle Fist needed chakra to fuel their strikes otherwise a user was merely using weak palm strikes.

Naruto passed Neji's guard with a left uppercut and just as Neji's face rocked upwards, Naruto slammed his right fist down into Neji's face. The whiplash and impact was enough to knock Neji out and he fell to the floor.

Naruto gazed at Neji.  _'That was too close. I need to work on fighting without Kurama's help. If I continue to rely on him than my own growth will be stunted._

' _I should've learned my lesson from when Sakura got hurt. I can't ignore other parts of my training; especially since Kurama has already been sealed before by the ninja with Akari._

' _Use your head Naruto!'_

xXx

Hiruzen reflected on the preliminary fights that he watched as he made his way downstairs into the arena. All the preliminary fights had taken place and the winners need to draw their lots in order to see which order they would fight in at the Finals.

' _To think that Guy would teach his student how to open the Inner Gates, its reckless to the extreme. Lee clearly has strength greater than that of a Genin but I don't know if he will be able to stay a ninja; his injuries are quite severe._

' _After what Kakashi told me, the fact that Naruto, with the Fox locked away, was able to overcome Neji is impressive. Especially since it's clear that Danzo has taken Neji under his wing. Danzo will not be happy that his puppet lost so early. I may have to step in and take the young boy away from Danzo to preserve his safety._

' _Onoki's granddaughter defeated Kankuro easily. He must be getting senile if he thinks his ploy has gone unnoticed. I must give Kakashi word to warn Naruto about her. With her actual Genin teammate beating that girl from Sound, the Hidden Stone will be represented well._

' _Sasuke, Shikamaru and Sakura had impressive wins. I know that Asuma has been happy about the changes to Shikamaru and his motivation but Sakura's win over that Zaku; she displayed greater improvement in a short time than anyone else I've ever seen.'_

Hiruzen had hoped the other Leaf Genin had had a better day though. Ino and Tenten both lost their bouts and instead Dosu and Temari would continue to the finals.

The winners had lined up and Hiruzen then explained why the Finals would take place in a months' time. How they should use the time to gather intelligence on their opponents' abilities and train to become stronger.

Once that was done, Anko approached each of the Genin with a box that contained numbered papers. After each number was told Ibiki held up a clipboard that showed them the opponents they would be facing in the Finals.

Fight One: Naruto Uzumaki vs Kurotsuchi

Fight Two: Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara

Fight Three: Sakura Haruno vs Gen Shirai

Fight Four: Shikamaru Nara vs Dosu with the winner fighting Temari.

Hiruzen watched the faces of the Genin as they glanced at their competition. Hiruzen answered Shikamaru's question about whether or not only one of them could win and if that meant only one could be promoted. All the Genin showed resolve on their faces when it was revealed that it was possible for all or none of them to be promoted.

' _So, Leaf will have four, Sand two, Stone two and Sound one?_

' _I can see the fire burning in their eyes. Whether its to get promoted or just to fight, they are all itching to get things under way._

' _Orochimaru told Anko not to cancel the Chunin Exams otherwise he would kill my people. I need to contact Jiraiya and see what he has managed to unearth.'_

xXx

Orochimaru was many things; brilliant, determined and powerful. He was also quite cautious; he didn't trust anyone completely. That was why he always took what Kabuto told him with a pinch of salt.  _'I know he wants to serve me but too much about him is hidden in shadow. Does he still serve Sasori? What does he want?_

' _Where does his true allegiance lie?'_

Orochimaru was mulling over what Kabuto had told him. Apparently the Fire Daimyo would be making an appearance at the Finals and that would throw a wrench in his plans. Orochimaru didn't have all the details but he did know that the Daimyo wielded far more power than they let on. He wouldn't have been able to establish the Hidden Sound village without the support of the Earth Daimyo, Shoma Nakamura. Shoma through his proxy, the Daimyo of the Land of Rice, had a large hidden base in the Land of Rice and had enough manpower in it to stop Orochimaru before he even began building his Hidden Village.

Did the plan need changing? If the Fire Daimyo did know something and told his old sensei that might cause some problems.

' _I should eliminate that Dosu and his team. They don't know much but what they do know could cause problems. They would make excellent sacrifices for the Reanimation jutsu._

' _I'll stick to the starting signal but change some things. If those changes get back to Sensei, I'll know I can't trust Kabuto. I will make him wish for death by the time I'm finished with my little spy.'_

xXx

Jiraiya was excited to see his godson again. It had been a while and Jiraiya was planning on teaching Naruto some awesome jutsu. He had gotten back the day after the Second Stage ended and after a quick debrief with his sensei, Jiraiya tracked down Naruto.

After Naruto had told him about who he would be facing at the Finals, Jiraiya knew that some hardcore training would be needed.  _'I just hope that Kakashi won't get offended when I steal his student away. The real problem is Onoki's granddaughter. Why she is here is anyone's guess since I know she isn't a Genin.'_

That however proved to be quite easy. With none of his team passing into the Finals, Guy had some free time and was determined to get Sakura up to scratch for her match. She was already running laps around the village with heavier leg weights.

Kakashi was concerned about Sasuke's first opponent, Gaara. Lightning was the natural elemental counter to sand and Kakashi wanted to help Sasuke grow his aptitude for the element. Things were lining up quite nicely.

The first thing Jiraiya did after hearing Naruto's tale was undo Orochimaru's Five Elements Seal. Naruto was relieved to feel his friend again but also stressed that he wanted to improve his own personal skills.

Knowing that Naruto needed new skills and jutsu, Jiraiya was happy to chuck a full water balloon at Naruto after showing him the Rasengan.  _'This is going to be a good month.'_

xXx

As soon as Jiraiya removed the Five Elements Seal that had been placed over the original seal, Kurama immediately began berating Naruto on his performance during the preliminaries. Kurama made a point to tell Naruto that he wouldn't provide Naruto with his chakra until Naruto managed to improve his own skills; Sealing in particular.

' _ **Naruto should use this time with Jiraiya as much as he can. Sealing is an overlooked skill but one that is truly dangerous. I should tell Naruto to focus on Seals, maybe he'll unlock the power of the Flying Thunder God.'**_

Kurama never thought that he would actually miss talking to Naruto but those three days of silence had reminded Kurama far too much of his time imprisoned within Kushina or Mito. Being locked away was one thing but not having anyone to simply talk to was far worse. That was why Kurama didn't withhold his thoughts from Naruto, just his chakra.

' _ **Never considered how much I would miss inane chatter with a pre-teen.'**_

xXx

Might Guy was devastated by Lee's injury. Guy had believed in Lee and his dream so much that he had been willing to teach Lee forbidden techniques. He had been forced to watch a student he had come to see as a son get crippled at the hands of one of those talented people that Lee wanted to put in their place.

' _I showed Lee how to open the Gates but not how to handle the damage. It's only with real training and consistent use that the body gets used to the strain of the Inner Gates opening._

' _I didn't want to place to much pressure on Lee though, and kept his exposure to the third gate and above to a minimum. If I had just hardened my heart a little, Lee's body would've adjusted to that level of punishment and he might've won._

' _I won't make that mistake with Sakura. She still wants me to train her, even after watching Lee destroy himself and I can't say no. She trusts me to have learned from my mistakes and I can't betray that. She is learning medical jutsu and is already able to heal some damage that is inflicted on her body._

' _I'll get her to continue her medical training so that when she does open the gates, she will be able to heal any damage she causes herself. The fact that her chakra control is so good means that she will be able to use the chakra given to her by the opening of the Gates more efficiently. She will be able to do more with the First Gate than Lee could with the Second._

' _By the time the Finals come around, Sakura will be a terrifying force of nature!'_

xXx

Kurotsuchi was searching for the Uzumaki. She couldn't kill him; the waiver was only valid during official Chunin Exam events but she wanted to speak to him. The only problem was that she wasn't sure what she was going to say.

She had started looking the morning after the Second Stage ended but it wasn't until the late afternoon that she found him. He was standing in the middle of one of the training grounds with the Legendary Jiraiya, holding a water balloon.

She heard the Uzumaki's faint voice, "Still don't see why you won't let me see it again with my eyes on. It would make this so much simpler."

Both of them turned when they sensed her presence. Kurostsuchi locked eyes with Uzumaki but didn't know what to say. Silence filled the ground but no-one moved.

Eventually the Uzumaki spoke in that annoying whisper of his, "What do you want?"

Kurotsuchi took her time thinking over her answer. "If you could have vengeance for your father's death, wouldn't you take it? What could stop you from taking action?"

Uzumaki had a good poker face, she would give him that. His eyes gave nothing away as he processed her words. He tilted his head as if he could hear something or someone but Kurotsuchi couldn't hear anything.

After a minute Uzumaki answered. "Vengeance? Whatever I decide to do about that will be my choice. Apart from my family, I value my freedom the most. So, the only thing that could stop me is me."

Whatever Kurotsuchi had expected, that wasn't it.  _'He likes being his own person. He also didn't answer if he would take vengeance.'_

"But what if the subject of your revenge was always there. Constantly reminding you about events from the past?"

"I'm reminded of something a 'friend' of mine said. 'Scars never heal if you pick at the wound.' Would taking action change anything for me?"

Kurotsuchi felt her eyes widen.  _'_ _Scars never heal if you pick at the wound_ _?'_  It was such a simple thing to say but it was true. Her Grandfather was bitter about many things but especially the past. His grudges with people had turned her village into a place where it was almost criminal to think about diplomacy with the other villages. Kurotsuchi loved her family but the idea that her grandfather was the problem had never crossed her mind.

His words had affected her but she wasn't going to tell him that. "Perhaps you have a point. You're more interesting than I thought Uzumaki."

Kurotsuchi turned and made her way back to the inn her team were staying in. The conversation had given her a lot to think about.

' _I am not my grandfather. I will do things my way. All I know is that one way or another, I'll get my answer at the Finals.'_


	13. Chapter 13

As he stalked his way through the trees, Kabuto felt a smile form on his lips.  _'This should prove to be quite interesting.'_

Forcing himself not to react, he paused as a short sword was brought up to his neck. A rough but feminine voice asked, "Who are you?"

Knowing that the mere act of raising his arms could be considered a threat, Kabuto stood still. He calmly replied, "My name is Kabuto. All you need to know is that we work for the same people. I have information you may want that could help you in your current mission."

The sword never wavered but the atmosphere changed. It was less alarmed and more curious but Kabuto didn't drop his guard.

"How can I trust what your claims? Do you have any proof?"

Kabuto smirked. "You can't. My only proof is a name. Shoma Nakamura. Is that enough to at least have the sword taken away, Miss Akari?"

There was a moment of deliberation before the sword was removed from its place. "Alright. You have my attention. What do you have to say?"

"My… 'master' placed me as mole inside Orochimaru's operations. When I was informed about you and your target, I knew I should inform you of his plans.

"Orochimaru founded the Hidden Sound village. He allied with the Hidden Sand and Grass and plans to crush the Leaf during the Finals of the Chunin Exams. Konoha will be in an uproar and security will be all over the place.

"Using a hostage will make the capture of Uzumaki far easier. The brat values his family and friends to the highest degree."

Kabuto slowly reached into a pouch that was on the back of belt. Pulling out a scroll, he dropped on the floor. He knew that no self-respecting ninja would walk up and take an unknown object from a potential enemy.

"That scroll holds all of the information I have managed to glean on Naruto Uzumaki. The people who would work best as hostages are all listed. Whatever you do with the information is up to you.

"All I ask is that the part I played in the capture isn't ignored. The appreciation of the Daimyo is always useful. Kabuto Yakushi, don't forget it."

Kabuto Flickered away satisfied.  _'One more step towards my goal. A little more currying favour and I should gain my audience with Shoma Nakamura.'_

A blood thirty grin graced Kabuto's face as he rushed back towards Konoha. He had to hurry before his absence was noticed.

xXx

Emotions were a risk. Emotions had more potential to foil missions and plans than anything else. That was why Danzo Shimura trained his operatives to kill their emotions and become perfect killers. Danzo had always prided his ability to remain objective and continue to see the big picture but anger coursed through his veins and nothing he did could quench it.

Danzo had known all about Orochimaru and how Sand would attack the village. His network of informants had brought a sealed letter from the traitor himself.

Danzo gave Orochimaru most of the information he asked for. Orochimaru had stated that his main goal was the assassination of Hiruzen and superficial damage to the village. This would give Danzo the chance to step in and assume the office of Hokage and gain the love of the people by rebuilding the village.

What made Danzo angry was the information that Hiruzen had told him earlier in the day. Danzo hadn't been foolish enough to trust everything Orochimaru had told him but apparently there was a lot more to his plans that he had told Danzo. It wasn't betrayal, that would imply a level of trust that Danzo never gave anyone. He had been lied to and it rankled Danzo more than anything else had in recent years.

The fact that Grass were involved was a nasty surprise. Nothing about that alliance had reached his ears. The superficial damage was not going to be so superficial; Orochimaru wasn't going to stop at Hiruzen's death and intended to obliterate the Leaf village. That was unacceptable.

To be sure, Danzo knew that his village was slowly going soft and that this event would help force the new generation to shape up but the complete destruction of his home? No Orochimaru's plan could never come to pass, ROOT would see to that.

Danzo had been careful about what he told Hiruzen but ROOT would now keep tabs on every new face that entered the village. It wouldn't surprise Danzo if Orochimaru had started sending his fighters incognito to pose as tourists and merchants.

' _Orochimaru will pay for lying to me. If he thinks he can double cross me without any consequences than he knows nothing.'_

xXx

Lee forced himself to take another painful step. All the effort he had put in the last three weeks would be for naught if he couldn't do this. The Final Exam was today and Lee was determined to walk all the way to the arena by himself.

Lee could almost feel Guy-sensei's hoping that Lee would cave and ask for help. Lee was glad that Guy sensei kept quiet though; Lee hated saying no to the man who had given him the means to pursue his dream.

On his other side, Sakura was walking with them. She was calmly going at Lee's pace, seemingly indifferent to the speed and enjoying the day. Sakura had appeared soon after Guy sensei saying that she had something to ask Naruto.

Sakura was the only person who hadn't changed the way they acted around him after his loss to Gaara; the only one who didn't treat him as if he was made of glass. Lee didn't know for sure but he suspected Sakura knew how much that meant to him especially considering her own experiences.

Though Lee had forced his broken body through his training, he knew in his heart of hearts that a part of it was fruitless. Lee didn't want to face it but he had run into an obstacle that he could do nothing about.

Lee couldn't put it into words but he knew that he  _had_ to walk the entire way to the arena without help. It was more than just desire, Lee almost felt like his whole future was on the line. It was Sakura who managed to get Lee to see what he was trying to do.

"Am I right in saying that you equate this walk to staying true to yourself? That if you can't do this then you have no right to refute the people who called you a failure?"

That was the only thing that was preventing his sensei from offering aid to him.

Even though Lee had left the hospital almost two hours early, he got to his seat in the middle of first bout. Though a part of him was disappointed that he had missed part of Naruto's fight he was much happier getting there under his own steam. Ten-ten quickly brought everyone up to speed as Sakura made her way to the contender's area.

"Good to see you Lee. It kinda looks like Naruto is having a hard time with that Stone girl. Like, she used an Earth jutsu and two large rocks rose up and came together to crush Naruto. He managed to use the Rotation to protect himself but he hasn't really gotten any offense in yet. Stuff like that has been happening all this time. Really, the girl has been way more impressive."

' _That doesn't sound like Naruto. I wonder what his game plan is.'_ Lee thought.

"I wouldn't be so sure Ten-ten," Asuma said from a row behind them. "Naruto has enormous chakra reserves. I would guess that he is letting her deliberately get a lot of offense in to try and wear her down in a battle of attrition. I'm sure you noticed that the girl's power is above Naruto's. So long as Naruto plays it safe, he will be able to out last her in a fight. Now, pay attention. Experience tells me that the pivotal moment of their fight is soon approaching."

Most of the Konoha genin that hadn't made it into the Final Exam had formed a small group in the stands and had heard Asuma sensei's words. They leaned forward in anticipation, Naruto was the standard they measured themselves against and were looking forward to seeing what was coming.

xXx

Kurotsuchi struggled to not let her declining stamina show on her face as she breathed deeply.  _'Just how much chakra does Uzumaki have? He hasn't tried to dodge any of my attacks, just overpower them with either his weird rotating or elemental attacks. He hasn't moved from that spot once! I deliberately avoided melee since he would have the advantage and intended to overpower his defences but that doesn't appear to be working since he has a ton of chakra._

' _If I can slow his movements then his Rotation stops being a factor. It's risky since I haven't perfected it yet but I have to use my Bloodline; Lava Release._

' _The only problem is; Do I use Quicklime or Ash? Oh I know, I'll drop a smoke bomb to catch his attention. Then I'll throw a kunai with a flash bomb. Hopefully that will catch him off guard and disable his enhanced vision for at least a few minutes._

' _Once the flash happens, I'll use my Ash to ensnare Uzumaki and he will be at my mercy.'_

xXx

Naruto could see that he was getting to his opponent. Deliberately standing where he had been at the start of the fight and over powering all of her efforts was slowly having an effect on her psyche. That his battle plan also fit in with Sakura asking him to prolong his fight so that she could walk with Lee was just a happy accident.

Naruto had had a lot of time to think about how to approach this fight. Kurotsuchi was stronger than he was in terms of jutsu power and overall skill. Naruto's greatest strength lay in his speed and chakra reserves. Naturally Naruto had thought to turn it into a battle of attrition and lower the risk that she might catch him by surprise.

That didn't mean that Naruto had been idle though. After Kurotsuchi had launched a large attack that made a lot of dust after colliding with his Rotation, Naruto had Summoned several small burrowing toads. He had drilled with them the past month so that they knew how to form several different seals with their tunnels underground. He simply gave the toads the code phrase 'Hold and Slow.'

The toads dived into the ground to form a seal designed to entrap and slow enemies by slightly disrupting chakra flow. Not enough to do major damage but enough to slow down someone's ability to augment their body's natural properties. While it was a unique way to use seals on the battlefield, it did have its drawbacks. It took a long time for his team of toads to make a seal, the seal needed to cover a large area to prevent any of the tunnels from collapsing by being too close to one another and if any of the tunnels did collapse, the entire seal would fail.

Naruto knew the risk of using this against someone who used Earth Release as much as Kurotsuchi but he was gambling on her not having seen something like it and accepted the risk that his efforts may go to waste. If it did, he only lost the chakra needed to summon the toads and some intelligence on his abilities but if it worked, the other fighters shouldn't be able to figure out what he had done. Except for maybe Shikamaru, he was the smartest person Naruto knew.

That had been roughly twenty minutes ago and the seal was almost complete. He had been keeping tabs on its progress with his Byakugan and was able to see the exact moment Lee was in his seat.  _'Just in time for the fireworks Lee.'_

His carefully crafted plan came to a halt however when Kurotsuchi dropped a smoke bomb and a kunai came flying towards him. He saw the flash bomb behind it and raised his arm as protection. He failed to remember to turn his Byakugan off though, and was blinded when it went off. Knowing that an attack of some kind was coming his way, Naruto used a Flicker to try and escape to his right. Though his Sharingan wasn't as affected, what he could see appeared 'spotty' as if he had stared at the Sun for a while then turned his gaze elsewhere.

A dark cloud had chased Naruto and unsure of what it did, he used a burst of Wind to try and blow it away. It had no effect and Naruto tried to evade with another Flicker but his left ankle was caught just as he moved. When he landed, Naruto discovered his left ankle was entrapped by whatever Kurotsuchi had used. His mobility hampered he tried to buy some time by using Wind enhanced Flame to attack in a circle around him to cover his blind spots.

It worked long enough for a toad to pop up out of the ground and tell him that it was done. Not wasting anytime, Naruto formed a Ram seal and activated the seal. The effect was immediate and unfortunately for Naruto, he had failed to keep track of his positioning. Both of them were now trapped in his seal.

Naruto felt the pathways to his eyes flutter and half of his vision got dark. The Sharingan was still on but without the chakra to feed it, stopped sending signals to his brain. His unenhanced Byakugan was returning to normal after the flash bomb which meant that he had at least one eye to see with.

' _Making myself vulnerable to my own seals is something I'm gonna have to work on. I hope my taijutsu is good enough to handle this.'_

xXx

Kurotsuchi had no idea what Uzumaki had done but he had somehow found a way to disrupt her chakra flow. Ordinarily it would've been a disaster for her but since she had already spent so much of her chakra that the only detriment was her now possessing her natural body's strength and speed. She experimented with some hand signs but what Uzumaki had done managed to alter her chakra flow enough that hand signs stopped working effectively.

From what Kurotsuchi could see, Uzumaki had hurt himself more with his technique. His Byakugan had been turned off and there was a vacant look in his Sharingan; it stood still in its socket and stopped tracking her movement.

' _Without those eyes and disrupted chakra flow, I should have the edge over him in a fist fight. I'm taller, older and we look to be the same weight._

' _If he can't use the Gentle Fist, then my advantage only gets larger. I need to press my advantage now, hard and fast.'_

xXx

Naruto knew that he was in trouble. Kurotsuchi had ran right at him and started a fist fight and without his eyes and an immobile left ankle, he ended up taking a lot of punishment. He managed to avoid broken bones but bruises bloomed all over his body and his right cheek was beginning to swell.

" **Naruto, you got careless again and have to live with the consequences. Why you didn't prepare for the possibility of getting caught in your own seal is beyond me. I thought you were smarter than that!"**

Naruto would've given Kurama a testy reply but all his focus was on the fight. Her longer arms meant that Naruto was forced to try and get inside her reach but they both knew that and Kurotsuchi wouldn't let Naruto get close enough.

' _I don't really want to do this but it's my only choice.'_

Naruto pulled out a smoke bomb that had been laced with pepper and after taking a deep breath, he popped it. Kurotsuchi had time for one more punch to Naruto's face before she smelt the pepper and leapt backwards to evade the itchy eyes and sneezing.

Lying on the floor, Naruto tried to ignore his burning eyes as he took out a kunai. He would've preferred to use ink but Kurotsuchi had broken his ink container with one of her large scale earth attacks. Naruto used the tip of his kunai to carve a small shallow copy of the seal that the toads had used but in reverse. He than added a ring on the outside of the seal with symbols detailing rejection. The end result was a seal roughly the size of his fist on his left breast and after a few attempts, he managed to activate it with his chakra.

Relief coursed through Naruto as his chakra network stabilised. With both of his eyes now working, he exploited the opening and used a Wind Flicker to appear behind Kurotsuchi before she could react. "Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!"

' _I must remember to thank Neji when I see him next.'_ Apart from the Rasengan and sealing, the other thing Naruto had trained was his Gentle Fist. Specifically, the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palm technique that Neji had used on Naruto in the preliminaries. His Sharingan had copied Neji's movements and his Byakugan told Naruto exactly which chakra points Neji had been aiming for. Weeks of painstaking effort resulted in Naruto being able to use the Sixty Four Palms with as much precision as the person he had copied it from.

When Naruto had finished his new technique, Kurotsuchi was lying on her back but remarkably still conscious. He crouched next to her. "Why does revenge matter so much to you? I know who you are now. I know you probably lost someone to my father during the last war but I can't see why you would do this. Neither of us had been born yet."

"Family pride and honour. Without my family who am I? I respect my grandfather more than any other person alive but I know he isn't prefect. If I turn my back on him and his goals, how could I still be myself?"

"Without all that, you would still be you. I love my family but the one in charge of my future is me and no one else. This vicious cycle will never end until someone stops seeking vengeance. I personally have nothing against you or your village.

"You lost because you lacked conviction. How could you win if you didn't know if you wanted to? Are you just a dutiful granddaughter or are you your own person?"

Naruto's gaze met Kurotsuchi's and a silent battle seemed to be raging in her pink eyes. After a short pause, she gave a small smirk. "I'm my own women Uzumaki. I'll be expecting a rematch in the future, not for something that happened between our families but to prove that you winning here was a fluke and I'm still better than you."

She turned her head towards Hayate Gekko who was nearby. It was obvious that the proctor had heard their conversation but was the only one who had. "Proctor, I surrender. Let's fight again Uzu-, Naruto."

Naruto gave her a grin. "You bet but I'll just beat you again."

xXx

Ino was looking forward to Sakura's match. Though disappointed that Sasuke was late and his match was postponed, it was still exciting to see her best friend in action.

As Sakura walked onto the field Ino rubbed her eyes to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. Sakura had clearly built muscle during her month of training. She was no where close to being a hulking figure but at a glance you could tell that she prioritized training and strength above all else.

It was a good thing that Ino had already checked her eyes because the second the fight started, Sakura blurred out of sight. A heartbeat later Sakura reappeared spinning as she delivered a savage blow with her left elbow to her opponent's jaw. A sickening crack echoed throughout the stadium and Ino thought she could see a few teeth fly through the air.

The genin from Stone spun in several circles from the impact before collapsing on his stomach. Sakura didn't give her opponent any time to recover, drawing a kunai. She swung downwards, aiming for the back of his neck. She was an inch away when the proctor, Hayate Gekko, caught her by the wrist and declaring Sakura the winner.

Shock gripped Ino and prevented her from speaking.  _'Just how far has Sakura left me behind? I…I refuse to be left in the dust! I cannot be the weakest person from our class! I need to talk to Asuma sensei and my father about increasing my training!'_

Ino turned to Might Guy. "Guy sensei, you trained Sakura this last month right? How did she get so fast?"

The present genin all turned, interested to hear exactly how Guy had trained Sakura.

"Well Ino, Sakura only got this far with a determination that burns as brightly as her youth! She trained hard to find her limits and forced herself to surpass them. I have no doubt that this past month was the hardest she has ever trained before but the results speak for themselves. She is now the fastest genin in the village."

Shock and doubt clouded Ten-ten's face. "But sensei, what about Lee? We've all seen how fast he is without his weights now. I'm a little more used to it since I've seen it before and I still think Lee is faster then what we just saw."

Guy simply smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "That's right Ten-ten, Lee's speed without weights is a bit faster than what we just saw from Sakura. However, Sakura is still wearing her weights. The only genin who would have a hope of fighting her at top speed would be Naruto and Sasuke and only because they have the Sharingan."

Stunned silence followed Guy's words. Ino couldn't believe it.  _'Asuma sensei knows how smart Shikamaru is but he's not making a case for him. Does that mean Shikamaru would get beaten by her speed before he could think of a counter strategy?'_

Kurenai turned to Guy frowning. "Don't you think you pushed her too hard Guy? There's no rush for this generation to surpass us; it's a time of peace. Training this hard is almost torture."

A shadow crossed Guy's face. "You have no right to judge me Kurenai. Sakura is the one responsible for her growth. I wanted her to go at a slower pace but something is driving her forward and absolutely nothing I said would stop her. It would be a disservice to Sakura to ignore her ambition and treat her as a little kid. She may be young but she is a ninja and this life is not for the faint of heart. With the injuries she has sustained, taijutsu is one of the only paths Sakura can take to become stronger. I will not disrespect her by treating Sakura any less than I did Lee."

A slightly tense moment followed. It was so uncommon for Guy to get so serious. The awkwardness passed when Choji accidently farted. Kiba started laughing as Ino shrieked and looked around for a new seat. Hinata looked faintly embarrassed and Shino remained stoically silent as he subtly fanned the air with his hand.

Everyone's attention snapped back to the arena when the next fighters approached.

xXx

Hiruzen wanted to enjoy the fight that had just started but he couldn't. Thanks to Reo, he now knew all about the Sand, Sound and Grass alliance and had prepared his village as best he could but Hiruzen could feel almost feel Orochimaru's eagerness radiating out from the seat next to him. His disguise was almost perfect and had managed to mimic Rasa's voice to an astonishing extent but Orochimaru had forgotten one thing.

Hiruzen had yet to find a ninja who knew more about chakra sensing them himself and now that he knew that there was something to look for, Hiruzen could feel a very faint chakra signature that could only be his wayward student.

' _If I had to guess, Orochimaru will start this off after he sees the result of Sasuke's newest training.'_

The one thing Hiruzen was sure about was that Orochimaru had a strange interest in Sasuke and Naruto. There was no other reason for him to attack the boys during the Second Exam. Hiruzen didn't know the reason for Orochimaru's interest

His thoughts changed to that of Shikamaru Nara and the changes that Asuma had seen in him.

' _Nearly losing his friend as clearly woken up the young man. He may lack in truly dangerous and explosive techniques but his intellect is terrifying. If he is anything like his father then Shikamaru will be one of our deadliest men.'_

"Tell me Hokage, what do you think about the potential of genin we have seen so far?" Orochimaru asked.

"Hokage? Why so formal Rasa?" Inwardly Hiruzen smirked. He had never had such a casual relationship with Rasa but Orochimaru couldn't know that. This was going to be fun.

"Oh please Hiruzen. If the leaders cannot abide by the rules then how can we expect our charges to?"

Hiruzen chuckled. It was such a flimsy excuse and one that would never fly between actual friends. Still, Hiruzen had a part to play.

"Well, of the other villages only your children and Onoki's grand daughter appear to have any potential. Do you have any idea for her demotion?"

"Well I can only speculate but I believe this is his latest attempt for vengeance against your Fourth. It's not very subtle but then he was never the subtlest of men. What of your own genin?"

"I think well of all the Leaf genin who participated. They tried and no-one can criticise them."

"Yes, you're correct but surely you must have a favourite among them. At the very least, tell me who you think will end up winning."

Hiruzen stroked his beard in thought. "Well, the only favourite I'll ever admit to is my son, Asuma. As for who I think will win, it's hard to say. A case could be made for every genin who made it this far. All I know is that the chance for a Leaf victory is quite high."

Hiruzen slightly turned his head and made eye contact with Orochimaru as he finished. To Orochimaru's credit, he gave nothing away.  _'That should have him thinking for a while. He always was one to over analyse my words.'_

Hiruzen had not completely ignored the fight in the arena. He had seen Shikamaru launch several decoys and feints hidden as probing attacks. Due to his years of wartime experience, Hiruzen could see that Shikamaru had been manoeuvring Temari to a specific spot without her realising it.

A volley of kunai was directed at Temari who used her fan to blow the weapons up away from her. As her fan finished it's swing above her head, Shikamaru undid a Transformation on one of his kunai. It turned out to be a flash bomb with succeeded in blinding her.

After that, Shikamaru undid another Transformation and one of his other kunai turned out to be a smoke bomb with detonated in mid-air. The smoke did nothing to Temari but it did leave a large shadow on the ground.

' _I see. He was making her get to the spot where that trap would be most effective by placing the Sun directly behind the resultant smoke. His probing attacks also allowed him to predict just how she would use her fan in response to his attacks._

A second later and Shikamaru succeeded in his Shadow Possession of Temari. With Temari being forced to copy his movements, Shikamaru crouched and pulled out a kunai that had been kept hidden in the tape around his ankles. Without a weapon of her own, Temari was forced to straighten when Shikamaru stood. Shikamaru than asked her to surrender otherwise he would throw his kunai and kill her. Without any options available, Temari surrendered.

' _She doesn't look very happy about it though. I'd guess its because she thinks her father is up here watching her fail. Rasa always was too hard for his own good._

' _Now that's over, I just have to wait for Sasuke's fight and then finally, this farce will be over.'_

xXx

Sakura was trying her best to ignore Naruto's inquiring gaze as Shikamaru returned to the contestant's waiting area. She knew both boys wanted to question her about her training and she had elected to wait until Shikamaru had finished his fight so that she didn't have to repeat herself. Once Shikamaru had retaken his seat she smirked as both of them looked at her expectedly.

"Maybe we should wait for Sasuke? He's going to want to know to," Sakura said airily.

Shikamaru frowned. "He will but he wasn't here for your fight. I believe it will be better for Sasuke to wait until he has seen the new and improved you."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah Shikamaru's right. Sasuke won't have any idea what you're talking about. Plus you did say you would talk after Shikamaru's fight."

Sakura grinned. She had them both in the palm of her hand. In the arena, Hayate announced that Sasuke only had a few minutes to get to the arena for his match otherwise he would lose by forfeit.

Deciding that she had teased them enough she began. "It's simple really. I had Guy sensei push me harder than he has ever pushed a student before. I knew that I had to make the month count so I used as much time training possible.

"You know how muscles get stronger right? The fibres get damaged with training and when the fibres heal, the muscle gets stronger. I used the medical knowledge and training that Kabuto gave me to accelerate the healing process so that I was continually improving my muscle's strength.

"I manually used my chakra to reconnect the fibres at the same time that I was training. It was really hard at the start but I got used to it. So basically, after I completed a set of, let's say push-ups, I healed my biceps so that they were back to full health and started more push-ups. I increased my strength at a rate that Guy had never seen before. Eventually I got good enough to continually heal the damage as I trained so that I constantly increased my strength.

"Sure it was tougher than any training that Kakashi sensei has put us through but it was worth it. In one month I am confident that I can win this whole tournament."

Sakura didn't mention the sheer pain that she had felt everyday of her training. How hard it had been to wake up at five AM everyday after exhausting herself with physical exertion as she forced her body to move with the ridiculous amount of weight that Lee used. She didn't want pity or empty words just recognition of her progress.

Naruto was rubbing his chin in thought. "That's pretty crazy Sakura. I'm looking forward to our fight. I'm guessing that you haven't covered everything that Guy taught you but that's fine." Naruto lowered his hand and grinned. "I've got ace's hidden up my sleeve as well."

Sakura smirked. "That's good. You're gonna need them."

Shikamaru spoke up. "That's all well and good guys but you might wanna pay attention. Sasuke and Kakashi sensei are back."

Sakura returned her gaze to the arena. Sure enough, her sensei and teammate were standing there with the tell tale wisps of smoke indicating a recent Body Flicker. She heard Kakashi's voice.

"Yo. Sorry we're late but training went a little over. But everything's fine since we are her-"

Hayate cut Kakashi off in an annoyed voice. "Get out of the arena Kakashi. Sasuke was supposed to be here earlier and now you're holding everything up."

Kakashi had the grace to look embarrassed before Flickering away to stand next to Guy. Hayate continued. "Now that both contestants are here, the next fight begins now!"

xXx

Sasuke smirked as he saw Gaara's surprised face when he displayed his new speed. He had worked hard with Kakashi to improve his physical abilities and it clearly paid off. The sand just couldn't keep up with Sasuke but he knew that taijutsu wouldn't be enough.

Drawing his sword, Sasuke channelled some Lightning through the blade. Kakashi had polished his elemental control until Sasuke was just as comfortable with Lightning as he was with Fire. Sasuke knew that he had to abuse the sand's weakness to Lightning to actually damage the deranged boy.

Seeing his elemental weakness, Gaara changed tactics. Drawing his sand back he formed three thin layers of swirling sand that stood at head height. Gaara had realised that he needed to cover every angle and couldn't rely on his Sand Armor.

Sasuke leapt forward and attacked the outermost wall of sand. Though he managed to slice through it easily, the gap closed off before he could cut through the next layer. Sasuke could've pressed forward but he realised that he would be surrounded by sand, his death following swiftly after.

Jumping back to gain some distance, Sasuke began thinking through his options.  _'I need to cut through his defence with an attack that is either large enough to wipe out all of his walls or fast enough to get through all three walls before he can react._

' _Chidori would be fast enough and could cut through easily. I'll have to make sure that I get out quickly so that I'm not grabbed.'_

Flickering onto the stadium's wall to give Sasuke enough room to build enough running speed and breathing room as he charged his attack. Above Gaara, an eyeball made of sand had formed and was keeping an eye Sasuke.

As Sasuke began his headlong dash, Gaara switched things up. His outermost layer of sand was sent outwards in attack. Hidden behind the wall of sand, Gaara than formed his second layer of sand into caltrops sharpened with his chakra as a deterrent.

Not seeing what was behind the first layer of sand, Sasuke sliced through before feeling intense pain in his feet. He immediately used a Flicker to get back to the wall instead of ruining his feet in an attack that may or may not have won the fight.

' _Okay I didn't see that coming. If he keeps those on the ground I won't be able to use Chidori on him. They also prevent me, from approaching with a Flicker since I don't teleport just move really fast._

' _I'll have to attack from a distance but he'll be able to dodge any Lightning kunai that I throw at him. How do I attack him with Lightning without him be able to avoid it? Oh that might work.'_

Trying to block out the itch that demanded more Amp, Sasuke reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a smaller version of his Shadow Windmill shuriken. He attached some wire to it so that he could change its trajectory. Than he charged it with Lightning and threw it down and to his right. When it reached the right angle, Sasuke pulled on the wire causing the shuriken to arc and head towards Gaara.

With Gaara's attention now on the shuriken, Sasuke threw several kunai with paper bombs in a line that led from Gaara to the outside of his defences. Making sure that he had timed it right, Sasuke gathered chakra in his legs and jumped. He sailed through the air until he was above Gaara.

As Sasuke jumped, Gaara caught the Shadow Windmill shuriken with his hand and used it to slice through the shuriken's shadow clone. Tossing away the original, Gaara turned back to look at the wall where he had last seen Sasuke. Alarm flashed across his face when he couldn't see his opponent.

Sasuke fell on top of Gaara as he stabbed down with his Lightning infused sword. He wasn't moving as fast as he could have and the sand had managed to divert Sasuke's attack from Gaara's spine to his right shoulder. Both boys fell in a heap but Sasuke wasted no time. He used a Flicker to retreat away from the sand on the ground that he had just cleared of caltrops with his paper bombs.

Sasuke saw Gaara push himself to his knees with his left arm. A frenzied voice cut throughout the arena. "What is this strange feeling? What's this on my arm? Uh, blood? It's.. my blood!?"

Gaara's left hand flew to his face and he seemed to be trying to stop himself from losing control. Crazed eyes raised to meet Sasuke's. "Sasuke Uchiha, you managed to hurt me. You threaten my existence so now I must destroy you!"

Gaara's injured right arm became covered in sand, stemming the blood flow. Gaara began a slow, crazed walk towards Sasuke but stopped as a massive smoke bomb erupted from the Hokage viewing balcony.

Shocked, Sasuke turned to look up to try and see what was happening but stopped when he saw a genjutsu descend on the spectators; they all fell asleep and ninja who weren't wearing a Leaf headband all appeared.

' _What is happening?'_ Sasuke thought.

Sasuke turned back to ask the proctor in time to see Gaara and his siblings Flicker away. Hayate was glaring at the jonin sensei for the Sand team, Baki. Not taking his eyes off the threat Hayate said. "Sasuke the Exam's are over. Three villages have banded together to attack our home. If what I heard just than is correct than Gaara has an important role to play. You have to chase them and stop Gaara by any means necessary. Understood?"

"I just have to do what I was going to do from the start then. I'll be right back." Sasuke Flickered away in the same direction that Gaara had gone.

The tension between Baki and Hayate intensified as they became the only people in the arena. With a small nod, Baki said, "You are no doubt highly trained. Your entry in the Bingo book states that you are adept at swordsmanship but blades of wind cannot be stopped like steel."

Hayate's face gave nothing away as he said, "That may be true but we have known about this little alliance for a while now and prepared accordingly."

As he finished, two Leaf ANBU appeared behind Baki. "Three against one? Where is that famed Konoha honour?"

Hayate drew his sword. "You are attacking our home. Threatening our families. Honour is the last thing we would give you."

xXx

The instant Orochimaru gave the signal several things happened throughout Konoha. Danzo gave the order for ROOT to carry out his orders. The people who had entered the village who may have posed a threat were neutralized as quickly as possible. Some of the people ROOT had shadowed were innocent but there was no time to nit-pick.

ANBU all over the village began the civilian evacuation to the designated area behind the Hokage Rock. Time was of the essence since it was obvious that the bulk of the enemies weren't in the village and needed to wait for reinforcement.

In the forest outside of Konoha, several teams used scrolls prepared by Orochimaru to summon large snakes. In total, eight massive snakes were summoned and attack Konoha's outer wall at various points. This meant that even forewarned, the defenders were going to be spread too thin.

Orochimaru had managed to trap the Third Hokage in a Four Violent Flames Formation jutsu. The ANBU assigned to watch the Hokage were left on the outside hopeless as they could only watch their beloved leader combat the resurrected forms of the First and Second Hokage.

In response to the snakes, Jiraiya summoned Gamahiro, Gamaken and Gamaton to deal with their most hated enemy. He was tempted to summon Gamabunta but that could potentially exasperate their dangerous situation. He instructed the toads to try and limit damage to the village but that the protection of the people was more important than the buildings.

Sakura and Shikamaru had managed to resist the genjutsu and made their way to their senseis side. After they had, they had woken the other genin before Kakashi had given them the mission to bring Sasuke back to the village. Shino couldn't be found and Kiba had vanished towards his house but Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji obeyed orders. Hinata didn't have the self confidence needed so she stayed behind where it was relatively safe.

Naruto wanted to help but his top priority became looking for his family and Karin. He had Flickered away to check the apartment building where he stayed. Normally, Mikoto, Eri and Karin would be at the arena supporting Naruto but in the last few days, Eri had developed a fever and was bedridden.

Fights broke out everywhere but the attackers were taken by surprise. They had assumed that they would have the advantage of surprise but Konoha had prepared itself and the attackers had a real fight on their hands.

On top of a tall tree, Akari saw the Leaf village come under attack and smiled. Kabuto had come through for them after all.  _'It's time to break Uzumaki before delivering him.'_

xXx

Kiba cursed. He wanted to find his family to make sure that they were safe but he was only now realising that leaving the arena were all the sensei's were probably wasn't the smartest idea he'd ever had.

Kiba knew that he was no much for the enemy ninja who were attacking. That was why he dashed from cover to cover hiding as best he could while making his way to the Inuzuka compound.

"What's this? Some kid playing at ninja? I guess I can spare a minute to put him down."

The strange voice caused Kiba to whirl around. He saw a man with a Sound headband and covered face. Someone who had come to his village to kill his family and friends. Anger bubbled within him, how dare this man think that he could get away with this?

"Back off. I know I'm young but I hit harder than any kid you've ever seen."

The man just laughed before he blurred out of vision. Kiba felt a kick impact his stomach and he was blasted into a nearby building. The stone cracked with the impact and all the air in Kiba's lungs left him. As he fell to his knees, Kiba gasped for breath.

Finally regaining breath Kiba fed Akamaru a soldier pill. "Let's do this Akamaru. Time to show him our power!"

Akamaru barked with determination, jumping from Kiba's head to the ground. "Fang over Fang!"

Kiba and Akamaru twisted in the air forming twin masses of swirling destruction. The man they were trying to hit dodged out of the way easily and avoided the follow up attack with the same amount of ease.

As Kiba's momentum faded he whipped around as he heard Akamaru whimper in pain. The man had managed to seize Akamaru by the scruff of his neck. "Time to grow up kid."

The man brought his spare hand up and grabbed Akamaru's lower back. He twisted Akamaru in a way that he was never meant to. Akamaru cried in agony before a horrifying crack reached Kiba's ears. Akamaru's neck had been snapped.

"Akamaru!"

Kiba's cry was filled with anguish. Blind rage filled Kiba and he charged at the man but he was forced to stop as Akamaru's corpse was thrown at him. Catching his best friend with as much care as he could muster, Kiba never saw the man's follow up attack.

' _How did this happen? This wasn't how things were supposed to go. We were supposed to get stronger than Naruto together!'_

The sound of impact from behind him forced Kiba to look up from Akamaru's lifeless eyes. His mother had just punched the man in the face and sent him flying away down the street.

"M-Mum! Akamaru is d-dead. I was too weak and now he's dead!"

Tears formed in Kiba's eyes but Tsume never took her eyes off the enemy in front of her. "Dry your eye's Kiba. Akamaru may be gone but you have to make his sacrifice mean something. You are an Inuzuka and we protect our pack!"

The man Tsume had punched got back to his feet. "Oh look. The brats mother had to come save him. Too bad she couldn't save the mongrel." He cracked his knuckles and grinned, "It's too bad that it won't be enough."

Two more Sound ninja appeared next to the first one. "You're an Inuzuka? Well where's your dog then women? I thought you all crossed that line with your pets and never went anywhere without them?"

Tsume grit her teeth. "If you think I need help to crush you than you are sorely mistaken. You tried to kill my boy and now I will you shall pay!

"Inuzuka Forbidden Art: Primal State!"

Kiba gasped. That was one of his clan's trump cards but one that was never used. It turned a user into a berserker who couldn't die until they ran out of chakra but it blocked out all sense of pain. The price for power was a user focusing only on attack and simply letting attacks hit them. The only sure fire way to kill someone in the middle of Primal State was either decapitation or if you managed to stall long enough for blood loss to be fatal.

His tears blurred his vision and Kiba missed details of the fight but he caught enough to see that his mother was winning. She had the strength to win but was rapidly gaining numerous wounds. She would bleed out in a matter of minutes.

Suddenly a ninja from Grass appeared above Tsume and hit her with a powerful Fire jutsu. This attack managed to slow Tsume down enough for the last Sound ninja to stab her in the heart with a kunai.

Against all odds, Tsume managed to power on and snap the neck of the Sound ninja who had so unwisely stepped into her grasp. Not wasting anytime, Tsume launched into a Fang Rotating Fang and smashed the Grass ninja at a speed that he was unable to dodge.

With all enemies down, Tsume's will to fight faded and she fell on her back.

"MUM!"

Kiba was by her side in a flash. He gripped her hand with all his strength.

"Kiba," Tsume's voice was soft and filled with pain. "Look after your sister. I love you…"

Kiba's scream of pain echoed throughout the street. How much more could he lose today? His precious partner Akamaru and now his mum were dead.

The sound of paws could be heard. Looking around, Kiba saw his mum's ninja dog, Kuromaru. "No Tsume!"

Kuromaru crawled on his belly until his nose pressed against his fallen companion. A keening could be heard as he grieved her passing. A few seconds passed before Kuromaru shook himself and turned to Kiba.

"You can tell me what happened later. We need to go help Hana now before she gets overwhelmed! C'mon, get up Kiba. The safety of the pack comes before everything else."

New light came to Kiba's eyes.  _'I will not lose my sister today! Sorry mum, I'll be right back.'_

Kiba forced himself to bury all his pain until after all his enemies had fallen. Kiba got to his feet. "Let's go help Hana."


	14. Chapter 14

Naruto stopped as he saw the carnage at the base of the building that he called home. Several ANBU lay dead, blood staining the ground.

" **Move! Do something, you can't just stand here!"** Kurama said urgently.

Naruto rushed into the building and quickly made his way to his floor. The sight of his front door smashed in filled his heart with dread but he didn't stop moving.

As he entered, the sight of his ruined living room met his eyes. The couch had been flipped and it looked like the coffee table had been severely burned.

"Mum! Eri! Karin! Where are you!?"

"In the kitchen!"

Naruto sped to the kitchen when he heard Karin's response. He froze as he rounded a corner and saw the situation. Karin was bleeding from a wound on her arm but she was ignoring it as she desperately tried to stem the blood that was escaping Mikoto's unconscious head. His mum was on her back and a large pool of blood had gathered on the tiles.

Naruto's eyes where drawn to Mikoto's stomach where a needle had pinned a piece of paper in her body. Naruto crouched down and began his medical jutsu. He knew that it wasn't his strongest suite but it was better than the rag that Karin was pressing against Mikoto's skull.

"Karin, where's Eri and what happened?!"

Karin's voice was wild but she managed to answer. "Mikoto said that it was Akari. She told me to grab Eri and run but we were overpowered by one of Akari's men. Mikoto, she…"

Karin's voice trailed off and tears formed in her eyes. It took Naruto saying her name several times before Karin shook herself and managed to continue.

"Mikoto was amazing. I had no idea she was so strong but Akari overwhelmed her. Mikoto was hit in the head with a piece of the coffee table and knocked out. I was stabbed in my arm with a kunai but Akari said that I wasn't allowed to die. I was needed to tell you that Eri's life was now in your hands. Everything you need to know is on that piece of paper."

Karin gestured at Mikoto's stomach. Naruto didn't dare stop his first aid to read the note. He instead asked Karin to read it aloud.

"Uzumaki, Eri is at my mercy and if you ever want to see her again than you will meet me two kilometres west of Konoha at the top of Remembrance Hill. If I haven't seen you by three PM then I will assume that you won't be coming and give your little sister to Mako to suffer his disturbing tastes."

Horror gripped Naruto. He had been given the  _talk_ a few months earlier and by correlating that with what he had been told about Mako from Akari; he could connect the dots.

Not taking his eyes off of Mikoto Naruto asked, "What's the time Karin!?"

Karin glanced at the clock. "It's 1:30pm Naruto."

Naruto grit his teeth. He knew that he could make it to Remembrance Hill in roughly twenty minutes.

" **Naruto, it's a trap and you know it. I know you want to save Eri but use your brain."**

' _I know it's a trap but I have to go. If I don't then Eri suffers a fate worse than death. If I go, I might be able to rescue her or negotiate her release. We both know I don't have a choice.'_

Making up his mind, Naruto told Karin to grip his arm firmly. Unbidden, Kurama gave Naruto a large amount of chakra so that he could Flicker both women to the hospital. The amount was overkill but both Kurama and Naruto only wanted to use one trip and it was far better to use more chakra than less.

The three of them appeared in the hospital lobby and were taken aback by the flurry of activity. This was the busiest the hospital had ever been. Karin managed to get the attention of one of the nurses and soon a stretcher rolled by for Mikoto.

After biting her lip for a second Karin threw her arms around Naruto. "Please be careful Naruto. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

Karin left out the everything else she wanted to say. How Naruto meant more to her than even she realised and how her feelings might've developed into something more than friendship. Naruto didn't need any distractions right now and besides, it was embarrassing!

Naruto returned the hug. "Don't worry Karin, I'll be careful. I'll be back before you know it!"

Releasing the hug, Naruto gave Karin one last look before Flickering away.

xXx

Sasuke fought to regain his breath.  _'Damn how tough is this guy!? The only thing I have that can even touch him is Lightning but that eats up my chakra like nothing else.'_

He had already used one hit of Amp to try and put down Gaara but it hadn't been enough. Gaara had undergone a strange transformation and his top half now resembled a monster.

The arrival of Sakura, Ino and Choji disrupted his thought process. Now he had to worry about their safety as well as his own. At least he didn't have to worry about Shikamaru, apparently he had stayed back to hold up some Sound chunin.

To his great surprise Sakura had improved so dramatically that it made the Sakura from the Second Exams look like a chump. However, it didn't look like it would be enough. For all her speed and strength, taijutsu just wasn't going to cut it.

By some miracle, Ino managed to ensnare Gaara with her Mind Possession jutsu as he left himself wide open after attacking Sasuke again. It gave everyone a much needed break. As they spoke, sweat broke out on Ino's unresponsive brow. Choji recognised the signs. "He's too strong for her to contain for long!"

Sasuke took the opportunity and threw a shuriken at the motionless Gaara. Sand automatically blocked the attack. Unfortunately, that proved to be the limit of Ino's ability and she woke up gasping.

Gaara had pressed both of his hands to his head and crouched down. Sasuke could just make out what was coming from Gaara's lips. "No, you stay there! She's gone, she's gone! Don't get angry! No! Stay calm!"

Seeing the chance this gave them, Sasuke turned to face his friends. "Guys get back to the village. We aren't enough, get back up. I'll buy you as much time as I can." Sasuke said quietly. The admission of his own weakness tore him apart but it was the cold hard truth. Sasuke knew that he would likely die at the hands of Gaara and fail to exact his vengeance upon Itachi but he couldn't let the others die needlessly.

He had devoted his life to not only killing his brother but to live his life as opposite to Itachi as possible. Leaving them to die seemed like something that his brother would do, considering how he had valued his own life over his clan's and Sasuke would be damned before he did anything resembling Itachi's behaviour.

There was a pause before Sakura gave him a look. It was a look that promised pain but somehow also conveyed understanding. "No Sasuke I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry for not saying anything but Kakashi sensei told me all about your brother and if I go now, how will you fulfil your ambition?

"Forgive me for being presumptuous but isn't doing everything alone exactly what Itachi would do? He clearly had issues but never told the people who would be able to help him. His talent made him an ANBU captain at the age of thirteen but he was alone. Sasuke, don't let vengeance turn you into Itachi!"

Sakura's words hit home but Sasuke would never, ever admit how much. Just how much had he changed? Four months ago, he would never have used something like Amp to boost his power.

Choji's face was a picture of confusion but Ino had a faint look of annoyance. It looked like she wanted to say something but was smart enough to realise that Sakura knew more about Sasuke and she was the best chance they had to stay and help.

Sasuke's voice was strained as he said, "Sakura, it's not just vengeance. Itachi is a blight on this world and it is my moral duty to stop him. But I can't let you or anyone else die if I can do something about it. Please… go."

Sasuke hadn't taken his eyes off of Gaara who was still crouching while muttering to himself. He was taken completely off guard when Sakura smacked the back of his head.

"Shut up idiot! I'm not going anywhere!"

Sasuke turned to face Sakura with an incredulous expression but she kept talking.

"I've worked too hard to catch up to you and Naruto for you to just up and die now! If nothing else, remember Naruto and Eri. Remember your mother, would they want you to forget them? Would they want you to forsake everything they stand for?"

Despite his wishes, a small smile graced Sasuke's face. "It seems that I can't get rid of you. Alright, stay if you want but please don't tell anyone else about this. I wanna let everyone know on my own terms. To stand a chance, I have to play all the aces I have."

Glancing at Sakura, Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the Amp packets that he had received in the Forest of Death. Though she didn't know exactly what Sasuke had, Sakura made an educated guess. She grimaced before saying, "Well you're not wrong. Here's my ace."

Sasuke watched in shock as Sakura proceeded to open three of her Inner Gates.  _'What the hell? What on earth did she get up to this last month?!'_

He saw Sakura turn to face him with a smirk; her skin had turned red and her muscles had bulged slightly.

"Alright Sasuke, what's the plan?"

"It depends on how fast you are now."

"With the third gate open, no-one our age has a chance of keeping up with me."

"Then it's simple. I'll distract him with Lightning and when you have an opening, knock him out."

It was precisely at this moment when Sasuke felt hope rekindle in his soul that Gaara exploded with sand and smoke. When Sasuke was able to see again, Gaara had turned into an enormous monster that resembled a tanuki made out of sand.

' _How are we supposed to fight something like that?!'_

xXx

Iruka Umino was worried but he was seasoned enough that he could hide it. He was in charge of the civilians who had managed to find their way to the evacuation point and it was a duty that he had accepted, albeit with some hesitance. There were other more powerful or experienced shinobi in the village, he was just a teacher. Who was he to order other chunin around?

Iruka's head snapped to the entrance when he heard people start screaming. He made his way as fast as he possibly could hoping that it wasn't as bad as he feared.

Iruka gaped when he saw exactly what caused the screaming. In the open area in front of the entranceway, two Sound ninjas had appeared and started hacking their way through the civilians who just wanted to get to safety. Iruka Flickered in front of one of the Sound ninjas and kicked him in the stomach. He then turned and blocked a shuriken with one of his kunai.

"Get inside! There are more Konoha ninja guarding everyone else. GO!"

As the people who were still standing rushed to safety, Iruka drew another kunai in his off hand.

' _I can't weaken the defences by asking for help. The others are needed inside and it's easier to defend a small entrance. I can't risk turning my back to get back inside; they're faster than I am. I wish I had- No, it's too late for regrets._

' _I'm going to have to beat them down here and now.'_

xXx

Konohamaru and a small group of civilians, which included his friends, followed Ebisu sensei as they hurried towards the Hokage Rock. They had lucked out and managed to get a special jonin escort when Genma Shiranui joined their small party. Genma had managed to deal with several enemy ninja at different points.

Genma was the sole reason why they had made such good time but everyone stopped when they saw the state of the area outside the evacuation point.

Bile rose up in Konohamaru's throat when he recognised the bloody body of his academy sensei, Iruka. Cuts covered his corpse but Iruka had not gone down without a fight. Bodies of two Sound ninja littered the ground, one of which had been bisected.

Unable to keep it down, Konohamaru dashed to the side to empty his stomach. After he was done, he returned to stand by Udon and Moegi's side. Moegi had covered her face with her hands, tears trickling through her fingers but she didn't make a sound. That scared Konohamaru more than if she had been crying.

Off to one side, several more bodies lay on the ground. Konohamaru actually knew one of them. He was the guy who sold those awesome hotdogs but Konohamaru could never remember his name. That he would never get a chance to ask what it was, it was enough to make him feel sick again

While he had been vomiting, Ebisu had checked the entrance. After he gave the successful response to the challenge, the villagers were allowed to enter. Genma elected to stay outside as the new first line of defence.

Konohamaru gently guided Moegi into the Hokage Rock. He gave one last look at Iruka's face before he made it to safety.

' _I hope uncle Asuma and Grandpa are okay. People I know aren't supposed to die, that's only supposed to happen to other people.'_

xXx

Naruto had just cleared the village wall on his way to Remembrance Hill when he saw a monster appear above the treetops.

" **Naruto, that's the form of the One Tail, Shukaku. My little brother appears to have gotten some freedom. We are the closest and if he isn't dealt with, Shukaku will cause chaos in the village."**

Naruto still had an hour left to meet Akari.  _'Kurama, how do I deal with something like that? I don't have anything that will be able to damage Shukaku.'_

" **You will have to summon a toad. They have the size and power but you have to hurry! Shukaku is using only a portion of his true power but every second he taps into it more and more. Take too long and no-one but Jiraiya and the Hokage will be able to handle him."**

Naruto felt Kurama pour chakra into his body and Naruto summoned Gamabunta. Gamabunta glanced around, "What's this? Why have I been summoned?"

Naruto caught Gamabunta's attention with the loudest whisper he could muster. "One hundred meters behind us is Konoha. We are the only thing standing between Shukaku and Konoha's destruction. You are the only toad capable of fighting a beast like that. Will you help defend my home?"

Gamabunta sighed. "You got me kid. We toads are good friends with Konoha and I can't let Shukaku destroy it. Get ready because this is combat on a level you have never seen before!"

xXx

Temari had seen many things in her life. She watched her little brother turn into a cold blooded killer, she had seen the secret oasis hidden underneath her village but this definitely took the cake.

That Naruto Uzumaki had appeared out of nowhere with a giant toad and began fighting Shukaku on an even setting. The Leaf genin that had chased Gaara and herself had used the opportunity to regroup and they were all watching Uzumaki with pure shock written all over their faces.

Temari idly noticed that blood dripped from the Uchiha's nose. Perhaps it had something to do with that powder he had used earlier.

When she was drenched with water Temari switched her attention back to the battle. She realised what had caused the downpour when she saw the toad fire a massive bullet of water which was hit by a mass of wind shot by Shukaku.

' _What on earth is happening? They are changing the landscape with their fight!'_

She could be seeing things but it looked like Uzumaki was talking to the toad. It didn't seem like since the toad shot another mass of water at Shukaku which was dealt with another burst of wind. The resulting burst obscured the view and the instant Shukaku lost sight of the toad, Temari saw Uzumaki place his feet on either side of the toads left nostril. A massive exhale forced Uzumaki skyward and out of sight.

The toad didn't give the fact that Uzumaki wasn't around away by keeping up the pressure as he jumped at Shukaku with his sword drawn. Shukaku clearly wasn't expecting such speed and his arm was cut off before the limb turned into sand.

Temari saw Uzumaki fall from the sky with a strange blue orb in his right hand. Shukaku hadn't spotted the danger and Uzumaki struck her sleeping brother with the orb. Gaara immediately awoke, screaming in agony. The damage proved to be too great and the giant body of sand collapsed as Shukaku was locked away inside of Gaara once again. Seeing that Uzumaki had been successful, the giant toad vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Temari watched her brother fall to the ground on the verge of unconsciousness before Uzumaki Flickered next to him. She was about to jump to her brothers rescue but stopped when Uzumaki crouched and started a conversation.

xXx

Fear was an alien emotion for him but one that Gaara found himself becoming familiar with quite quickly. Gaara had decided to prove his existence by killing everyone not worthy but for the first time he had run into someone that he couldn't kill.

He knew that he was completely out of chakra, the sand wouldn't be able to protect him. He was at the mercy of Uzumaki and both of them knew it.

Uzumaki made eye contact before he uttered one word, "Psylink."

Gaara lost sight of the world as he was forced into Uzumaki's memories. He saw a young boy despised by the people, one who was so similar to himself. The pain of loneliness stung Uzumaki's heart just like his own but Uzumaki hadn't given in to rage and tried his best to win over the people who feared him.

Gaara had seen enough death to not be shocked at Uzumaki's experiences in the Pit but against his better judgement, Gaara found himself admiring how Uzumaki had forged a partnership with his beast and not losing sight of what made Uzumaki, Uzumaki.

Envy filled Gaara as he witnessed Uzumaki finally make the bonds that both of them had always desired. A mother who was alive, friends who didn't fear you, who would die for you.

Gaara felt all of Uzumaki's pent up emotions from throughout his life. It was deeply personal and Gaara knew that Uzumaki would being seeing his life in the same way.

One thought dominated Gaara's mind at the end.  _'How did he find love? We are so similar but I don't understand how he managed to gain everything I've ever wanted. What is the difference between us?!'_

Gaara blinked at the sudden light as Uzumaki finished his jutsu. Gaara knew that Uzumaki had had the chance to mentally cripple him, just like the man who had attacked the village with Akari. Why hadn't he done so? His eyes flicked to Uzumaki's as he said,

"I'm not going to get all emotional, we both understand each other better than words could ever explain. I bet you're wondering why I didn't crush your mind right? I'll admit I considered it but as I saw just how close I came to becoming you I stopped. The only thing that is different between us is the choices that we made.

"I know you don't want to be like this, you can't lie to me about that, I saw it. From what I saw you just don't understand how to change. I'll make a pact with you, if you change the reason for your existence to something different than I won't let you suffer the pain of being alone. I'll stand by your side as friend."

Gaara knew about the ultimatum that he had been given from Akari, he knew that Uzumaki was itching to get the Hill but somehow Naruto had found time to drag Gaara out from his hole of isolation. He wanted nothing more than to accept but for the first time in his life Gaara didn't know what to say. The minutes dragged by but neither of them said anything. Taking the plunge, Gaara said,

"Okay. I didn't think anyone would know my pain as well as you. Thank you…Naruto."

xXx

Naruto grinned down at Gaara. The moment ended when Kurama cried out.  **"Watch out. Someone's nearby with malicious intent!"**

Naruto stiffened and turned his Byakugan back on. Faster than he could react, golden chains appeared out of the trees and grabbed him. Naruto felt the strength in his arms leave him. His Byakugan flickered before reverting into its natural state. His Sharingan stopped sending vision to his brain and he became half blind.

" **Naruto, these chains are the same ones that Kushina used! Get out before they sap away all of your chakra!"**

Naruto was too distracted by the chains to notice but Gaara saw a tall woman walk out of the trees, the chains coming out from her chest. She smirked, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming brat. Good thing I decided to take a walk, saved myself some time."

Rage filled Naruto when he recognised Akari's voice. He was struggling to free himself but it was no use. "How can you use these chains? Where did you learn it?!"

Her smirk grew even bigger, "You never asked my full name. It's Akari, Akari Uzumaki."

Naruto was so surprised that he stopped trying to free himself. "What!? You're lying, that's not possible! I'm the last Uzumaki and if that is your real name than why are you doing all of this?! We are family!"

Naruto knew that wasn't strictly true but he'd be damned before he dragged Karin into the firing line willingly.

"Just because we share a name doesn't make us family. Now shut up, your little sister had to be gagged because she wouldn't stop crying and I'm betting that seeing you will make her stop. Let's go. If you're a good boy, perhaps I'll tell you my reasons for all this."

At that, another chain appeared and gagged him. Akari Uzumaki walked away into the trees, dragging Naruto behind her. Naruto saw Gaara staring at him with real fear in his eyes. Naruto tried to convey the message that he should stay away, that it was too risky and Akari was too strong but he didn't hold much hope of that happening.

Gaara had experienced the joy and warmth that he longed for and Naruto wasn't sure how far he would go to avoid the pain of its loss.

xXx

Jiraiya took down another enemy ninja with a Rasengan. He had stayed near the academy to try and protect one of his favourite buildings in the village but he couldn't help but feel that his efforts may be better used elsewhere.

' _I know the plan was for sensei to deal with Orochimaru by himself but that always struck me as reckless. It's not like I can't see where sensei is coming from; a teacher should deal with his own mistakes but I have stakes in that fight too.'_

Jiraiya grit his teeth and made up his mind. Orochimaru had been as close to him as a brother and it was just as much his responsibility to stop Orochimaru as his sensei's. Jiraiya looked around, he couldn't see any enemies. Taking it as a sign that he should move on, Jiraiya rushed towards the fight that he should've finished years ago.

xXx

Throughout the village, the tide had turned. With the assistance of ROOT, the Leaf forces, while still out-numbered, where in a strong position and the attackers lost their main advantage. It was known throughout the Elemental Nations that the quality of one Leaf ninja was higher than its rival villages.

Fighting was winding down everywhere. The information that Orochimaru had disguised himself as the Kazekage had finally filtered to the Sand and they quickly surrendered. They just wanted to find out the truth and if their leader was still alive.

Grass had cut its losses and begun a retreat. They had believed in the lie that Orochimaru had peddled them; the Leaf would be weak and unsuspecting. They would wilt in the face of the Alliance. Running into a fully prepared Konoha was more than they were prepared for.

The rampant serpents had been put down by Jiraiya's Summons and in one fell swoop a large amount of Sound's strength disappeared. Of the Alliance, Sound had the least amount of Jonin, a short coming that meant that with the loss of their allies, Sound ninja began to drop like flies.

xXx

Hiruzen was no stranger to pain. One wasn't given the title of 'God of Shinobi' if they were subdued by a little pain. The sword stabbing him through the chest wasn't a trivial amount but nothing that he hadn't pushed his way through before.

The pain of his soul being partly separated to help manifest the Shinigami was definitely the worst he had ever experienced.

Blood covered his chin as Hiruzen said, "It seems that I don't have enough strength to finish the job. You won't leave here without suffering though. I'm taking your arms with me. Your quest to master all ninjutsu ends today, my former student!"

The Shinigami's blade fell and the price was paid. As he fell on his back he used to last of his strength to talk to his long time friend. "Enma, tell Jiraiya I left a letter for him in my office hidden in my favourite book. Thank you my friend."

' _So this is the end of the line. Jiraiya, I entrust the village to you. I'm sorry Biwako; I'd have liked to see you again.'_

xXx

To say that Asuma was surprised when two thirds' of both his and Kakashi's team, Shino and the Sand siblings appeared carrying the limp form of Gaara would be an understatement. That surprise was nothing compared to the horrified shock when they told him that after Naruto had saved the village from a raging Shukaku he had been captured. Sasuke confirmed that it was one of the people that had attacked the Uchiha compound months ago.

' _Mikoto told us that her name was Akari and the only Akari in the Bingo book is Akari the Maelstrom. She was one of the greatest ninja to serve in the Kinkaku Force but had deserted her post and vanished._

' _Naruto doesn't stand a chance against someone of that calibre. I want to go after him but the safety of the kids has to come first. The fighting may be subsiding but they will need an escort to the hospital._

' _Hold on Naruto, as soon as possible, I'll be there!'_

xXx

Danzo didn't forget things. He knew that the Uchiha attack and Naruto's kidnapping were connected and that if he was patient than the identities of the traitors in the barrier teams would eventually reveal themselves. It was just a matter of time.

He had never considered himself as pessimistic, just realistic and Danzo could connect enough dots to see that the Alliance's Invasion would be the perfect smokescreen for this mysterious group to make another move.

It would take an enormous amount of energy to destroy the village's barrier. Even if you combined the strength of Orochimaru's snakes and Jiraiya's toads, it wouldn't be enough. The snakes had only got in because the barrier was primarily designed to keep out ninjutsu and high speed projectiles.

With his agents watching, Danzo had been immediately notified when a hole in the barrier appeared and the agent assigned to watch the Uzumaki's family sent back word that the girl had been taken.

Swift orders were sent out, the traitors seized and the one originally sent to observe the Uzumaki's family to continue to follow the girl.

' _There is no crime greater than that of treason. The other crimes can be explained away but you have to choose to betray your home and people. After Inoichi gets everything useful out of their heads, I will torture them so thoroughly that they will beg for death.'_

xXx

Kurotsuchi was still shocked by what she had seen. Her team had stayed near the western wall since it looked like there was less fighting there. Next thing she knew, a giant monster appeared resembling a tanuki. She didn't have enough to time to worry before a massive toad was summoned facing away from the village.

Her eyes had always been good and she had no trouble seeing a figure standing atop the toad. Squinting, she was just able to make out a mop of blonde hair.

' _Is that Naruto?! He had something like that up his sleeve this entire time?'_

She watched a battle that tore up the land like it was paper. It was power on a level that she had never seen before. Finally, the tanuki went down, sand falling in large amounts to the ground.

' _Okay, so he can summon massive toads. I can't beat that, at least not yet. I have to talk to Grandpa and see what he thinks about me signing the Badger contract._

' _You won't leave me in the dust Naruto, we still need to have our rematch!'_

xXx

The instant Eri had thrown herself into his arms Naruto wanted to run but he didn't. He knew that he just wasn't fast enough to escape a determined Akari, Kakashi had told him that she had been given the prestigious rank of S and that if she wanted to kill you, she would. Only other S ranks could hope to put up a fight against her.

He might not be captive by Akari's chains anymore but Akari had slapped metallic cuffs on his wrists.; cuffs that had the same seal that had been used on him back during Akari's first attack. He was completely cut off from Kurama and the single biggest chance he had to fight.

' _I have no choice but to play along until I get a chance to get free.'_

Eri had burrowed her face into Naruto's chest in fear, as safe as she could get with his manacled arms around her. The sound of footsteps on grass made him look up. It was Akari,

"We're leaving. Just letting you know, I've got a man twenty meters in front, behind and on both sides. All of them could catch you before you go further than that. I'm staying in the centre and keeping an eye on you and your sister. Be a good boy and this journey will be painless for everyone. Now let's move out!"

Naruto was forced to carry Eri as they ran, she had no hope of keeping pace. The tension between them and Akari was intense but they ran in silence. Naruto kept his eyes peeled to ensure that he could back track easily. After roughly an hour of silent running, Naruto couldn't help himself.

"You can't be an Uzumaki. The Third Hokage said that I was the last one left. Jiraiya took me to see the ruins of Uzo. Stop lying to me."

Eri shifted a little in his arms. She was evidently as confused as he had been. There was a brief silence before Akari said, "You already know that the chains I used are an Uzumaki trait; one that only appears in our blood. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not true. Grow up brat.

"Anyway, I've been an Uzumaki longer then you've been alive. I saw the splendour of Uzo in all its glory until it fell. I honestly don't care if you believe me or not, I only gave you the answer when you asked me about the chains earlier."

That gave Naruto something to think about. Akari had been there at Uzo's fall?

"What did happen at the fall. Who attacked Uzo? None of the books in the library told me anything useful."

An uncharacteristic shadow passed over Akari's face. "You should ask your precious Third Hokage, if you ever see him again. The Mist and Lightning may have joined forces to crush us but it was Hiruzen's fault for starting the Second Ninja War in the first place. Uzo didn't want to go to war but we did to support our allies.

"When the enemy approached our border, we requested reinforcement from your village. They sent a paltry force that was held up by Lightning's forces as we were crushed by the largest fleet ever seen, courtesy of Mist and them hiring dozens of mercenaries.

"So Hiruzen Sarutobi is not only responsible for starting the War but also for not sending enough ninja to help us when we needed it more than ever. I can't say what his reasons were, I've never met the man but I'm going to guess that he was jealous of our power. We were praised as  _the_ masters of Sealing and at least to me, Hiruzen seemed like a proud man who couldn't accept that Konoha might not be the strongest ninja village."

Blank shock was all Naruto could feel when he heard that. "No! The old man is a great person, one who loves everyone in the village. He would never abandon a comrade; his Will of Fire wouldn't let him!"

Akari smirked. "Brat, use your head. Haven't you ever heard the expression, 'History is determined by the winners'? At the end of the war, Konoha had the strongest position. They could've demanded all kinds of concessions but instead sued for peace. It's clear to me that Hiruzen wanted to be seen as a powerful but kind and benevolent man.

"He had his biggest rivals dealt with and with his tactical genius drove the war into a deadlock in the Rain village, preventing damage to his own lands. By focusing on teamwork he ensured that by employing less ninja he could expect the same results which only increased his overall military power. As Stone, Lightning and Mist bled themselves dry, Leaf's casualties were relatively light in comparison.

"He than maintained the image of a peaceful man by stepping down as Hokage but remained in a position of power as the primary advisor to his successor. Make no mistake, I'm not saying your Third is an evil man, no he's just a normal man with the same flaws we all have. Power hungry, vain and most of all proud."

Naruto didn't want to trust any words that came out of her mouth but Akari had made some good points. It also seemed to line up to his own experiences. Why hadn't he been able to find any trace of Uzo or the Uzumaki clan in the library if they had been allies; allies close enough to have a swirl on the uniform of Konoha? There was no reason for it unless someone had removed all the books related to his fallen clan.

He looked at Eri when he felt her poke his chest. "She's lying Naruto. There's no way its true. The Hokage moved us all together after she attacked so that we could be protected. Don't listen to her!"

Naruto gave her a fake smile. He knew that it wasn't as simple as blindly following someone. The world wasn't black and white, he himself was an example of that.

' _I'm going to have a serious talk to the Old man when we get back but I can't let Eri worry about anything. She is the only thing that matters at the moment.'_

"It's okay Eri, I know that I can't trust Akari. Don't worry about me."

The amount of trust in the smile that she gave him made his chest grow tight. It was all well and good to say that but deliberately misleading his sister left a bad taste in his mouth, not to mention that he had absolutely no idea how to escape this situation.

xXx

Jiraiya ran his hands through his hair. All conflict had ended hours ago but there was so much to do and he hadn't had any rest.

' _This would've been easier if sensei hadn't given me that letter.'_

The letter had detailed everything that Hiruzen had discovered about the Daimyo and their dealings. It also mentioned the threat that Danzo posed and how strong leadership would be needed to keep the village out of his hands.

Jiraiya wasn't stupid, it was clear that Hiruzen wanted him to finally become Hokage, the same thing he had been bugging him to do for years.

' _It was never this blatant though. The whole situation with the Daimyo means that only someone with all the details can really hope to steer our people through this madness._

' _If Naruto was here, I wouldn't have much difficulty accepting but my godson has been taken again, along with Eri! How can I possibly leave him to fend for himself?!'_

It was a question that deep down he already knew the answer to but he refused to answer. It was almost as if by ignoring the answer, he could ignore the pain it would cause him.

The fact was that he wanted nothing more than to chase after his godson but the callous ninja side of him, the practical and ruthless side knew that the safety of one genin and a girl was nothing compared to the entire village. That decision would haunt his dreams but Jiraiya hated that deep down he had already made it. Sure Naruto had value, he was the Demon Container of the Nine Tails but with things as precarious as they were, he couldn't justify weakening his village's security for one person, no matter who they are.

With a bone weary sigh, Jiraiya sat down in his sensei's desk chair. He was just happy to have this moment to himself. Ever since Hiruzen's body had been recovered it seemed as if the majority of the ninja in the village looked at him for everything.

A knock at the door disturbed his brief moment of respite. He called for whoever it was to enter. Jiraiya sat up as he saw that it was the Fire Daimyo, Reo Suzuki.

"The famous Jiraiya. I'm a big fan of your books. I'm also sorry to hear about poor Hiruzen's death. He was a good friend." Reo said in a slightly effeminate voice as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

Jiraiya looked at the Daimyo in confusion. The image of a jolly and inept man directly opposed the man of deadly intelligence who ruled the Fire country from the shadows that his sensei had wrote about.

"Forgive me if I seem too blunt but you can stop the act. Hiruzen told me all about you and your contemporaries. I know the truth of the world. I hope that I haven't overstepped my bounds but at the moment I need all the help I can get."

Jiraiya saw Reo's eye's narrow slightly. "Very well. I'll cut right to it. Now that you know everything, you really are the only choice to be Hokage. As I made my way over here I managed to overhear a fair amount of people.

"Moral is low and bloodlust is raging throughout the village. People are talking about war and revenge with the smaller nations. What do you intend to do?"

Jiraiya resisted the urge to sigh. "We still have to make a casualty list and find out who we lost. The Inuzuka clan has to figure out who the new clan leader is with Tsume's death. With the former Kazekage's children here and Baki acting as the Sand's representative, I believe the Sand will beg for peace. They are victims in this and would probably march with us if we attacked Sound.

"Grass probably wants peace as well but I don't think the people will be happy if I don't do something about this. We've lost a lot of people."

Reo nodded. "I don't want war but if you do nothing than you will lose a huge amount of face. The other nations will doubt your power and the delicate balance we Daimyo have manufactured will fracture.

"Everyone will expect vengeance of some kind. I would recommend that you reach out to Onoki. That old man is prickly but loves his granddaughter. He will want to take part since Kurotsuchi had been placed in danger.

"I also suggest that you march on Grass and not Sound. Sound is a seat of power for Shoma, the Earth Daimyo and he might take it was a thinly veiled act of aggression towards him, especially since Naruto is your godson. If you suggest that Onoki march on Sound than not only do you placate him, you can start to mend the bridge that was burned in the Third War and avoid unintentionally offending Shoma."

Jiraiya mulled everything over in his head.

' _He definitely made a convincing case. I really can't refute his reasoning but I can't just agree with him. It might set a precedent that I'll be submissive to him. I can't afford to alienate him but I also have to show him that I won't be walked over.'_

"You make a convincing case Reo." It was a deliberate choice for Jiraiya to call him by his first name. It indicated that he wouldn't treat him any differently than anyone else. "I can't help but think that my people won't agree with you. Orochimaru founded the Sound village and killed my sensei. Their thirst for vengeance might not be swayed by attacking Grass alone.

"Contacting Onoki is a good idea but even with the risk his granddaughter went through I don't believe that he will be willing to ally with the village that birthed the Yellow Flash."

Jiraiya kept his face casual but he was keeping a close eye on Reo. It was all for naught however; the Daimyo didn't let anything slip past his poker face as he replied,

"Your points are valid but a small chance to bring down Orochimaru pales in the face of potentially bringing the wrath of Shoma down on our country. That could lead to the Fourth Ninja War and nobody wants that. If that were to happen I can't depend on support from the other Daimyo if they see us as the aggressors that started it. I know you were close to your teacher but at least this time, you have to take your eye off of Orochimaru."

' _That's probably the best I'm going to get. It's clear he wants to keep us out of Sound and if I push the issue he might turn nasty. It's alright though, I've shown him that he can't just order me around without thought.'_

"Well you're right, I don't ever want to go through another Great War again. Fine, we'll bury our dead and start preparations to march on Grass. I'm assuming that we will take large amounts of land when the conflict ends as our recompense?"

Reo nodded, "That is the way the world works. If Onoki proves to agreeable, then you might be able to strike a deal and gain land from Sound as well, in return for land from Grass. I hate seeing unnecessary battle but this cant be avoided if we want to maintain our position of power.

"Now that that's out of the way, what did you mean about the Inuzuka? Wouldn't the eldest child of the previous leader take the mantle?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "The Inuzuka are different to the other clans of our village. They are led by the strongest in their 'pack'. Once a month, the current clan head can be challenged by any member of the clan. This reflects their bond with their ninja dogs as well as ensuring that only the strong lead the pack. It's been a while since they lost a clan head without a replacement ready. It will probably take a few weeks for the new leader to emerge after beating all the other contenders. We won't be able to march until the Inuzuka have made a decision. Tsume held her post the longest, she managed to scare most of her clan after she crippled a clan member foolish enough to challenge her while she was pregnant."

Reo chuckled before standing. "Now that we have a rough plan, I'll be in touch once I hear the Inuzuka have a new leader to plan out our attack. I won't make the official announcement that you are the Fifth Hokage until then either. Let the people see you take charge as the pressure of leadership is thrust upon you.

"Oh keep an eye on Danzo. Hiruzen knew that he had his own private force of ninja but he never knew the exact number. After all of this though, I think it can be assumed that he has at least a hundred agents under his personal command. Until next time."

As the door closed, Jiraiya leaned back in his sensei's- no it was his chair now. There was so much to do; he had to talk to the families who had suffered losses, fill out requests to the capital for money to rebuild and bury the fallen.

' _I'm sorry Naruto. It looks like I'm going to be a failure of a godfather once again. I hope you can forgive me.'_

xXx

Mikoto Uchiha wanted nothing more than to continue sleeping but the harsh bright light seeping through her eyelids made it too difficult. Blinking, she opened her eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. Confusion was the first thing that came to mind but that quickly disappeared as her body decided to remind her that it was in serious pain. Mikoto let out a pained groan and moved her arms slightly.

"Mikoto! You're awake, thank goodness."

Mikoto slowly turned her head to her left. She saw Karin sitting by her bed looking worse for wear. Deep bags lay under her eyes and her hair clearly hadn't been attended to in a while. Mikoto tried to speak but her throat was too dry.

Karin got up to prepare Mikoto a cup of water while also shushing Mikoto. When Karin sat back down she said, "It's okay, don't talk. The doctor told me that you have to take it easy. I don't know if you remember what happened but the village was attacked."

Karin paused, leaning forward to pour some water into Mikoto's mouth. Mikoto forced herself to sip slowly, it wouldn't do her any good by drinking too fast and coughing. Karin sat back and continued.

"We were attacked in the apartment and Eri was taken. Stay still-" Karin was forced to stop talking as Mikoto had tried to sit up in alarm. "Mikoto calm down! If you keep trying to move the doctor is going kick me out and put you under!"

Mikoto forced herself to stop. Her need to move was tempered by her need to know about what happened. Karin resumed her recount once again, "You got knocked out and not long after Naruto arrived. Akari had left a note telling him to meet her outside the village otherwise Eri would die. He Flickered us to the hospital before taking off. Nothing would stop him at that point.

"I didn't see it but according to Sasuke, Naruto helped stop the Sand's Demon Container by summoning a giant toad but after the fight ended, Naruto vanished. We haven't seen or heard anything about what happened afterwards. This happened five days ago.

"Also, Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage. Jiraiya is slated to be the Fifth but Kakashi sensei says that there are more important things to do than hold a coronation."

Karin's voice had progressively gotten softer as she talked. It was clear that what had happened was eating away at her. Worry flooded Mikoto; Akari must've gotten hold of Naruto. Knowing about Akari's Bingo Book entry meant that Mikoto was forced to admit that the chances of her seeing her kids again were basically zero.

Tears filled Mikoto's eyes and she tried to hold back her sorrow. It was obvious that Karin was barely holding onto her composure and could break down in a second. Her innate maternal instincts took over and Mikoto grasped Karin's right hand.

The water had helped and Mikoto managed a shaky whisper, "Don't give up. Naruto won't let anything stand in his way to get back to us. Where's Sasuke?"

Karin gripped Mikoto's hand with both of her own. "The Sun's out so Sasuke is definitely training. The staff set up to couches for us to sleep on; neither of us want to sleep in that apartment right now. I'll admit, I'm worried about him. He's worried about Naruto and Eri but then he seems to snap and throw himself into training that seems to be closer to torture."

Mikoto closed her eyes.  _'Does Fate laugh as it tears apart my family? Am I cursed to watch the people I love die?_

' _The second I'm out of this hospital I'm going to tell Sasuke the truth about Itachi, orders be damned!'_

xXx

Kiba had cast aside everything other than training since his clan had buried his mother and Akamaru. It had been a symbolic event for him since he also buried all of his pain and regret. There was nothing that mattered other than getting strong enough to kill every Grass ninja that lived.

Kiba was just thankful that Kuromaru had decided to stick around. He didn't manage to fill the hole that Akamaru left behind but Kiba welcomed the company. Kiba knew that Hana was worried about him but she should focus on the clan wide search for a new Head instead. Kiba had thrown his own name into the tournament but had been soundly beaten by his third cousin.

' _I'm going to have to ask Naruto for training tips when he gets back.'_

There wasn't any doubt in his mind that Naruto would find his way back. Ever since he had met him, Naruto had seemed like all the adults; an impossible wall of strength. His mother had told him all the gory details about Naruto's past, Tsume had always advocated honesty being important as a parent.

Kiba had been left with a mix of pity and awe. He knew Naruto didn't do it on purpose but in every class that revolved around combat Naruto had terrified everyone in their year. He was like an apex predator; no wasted time or movement. He went straight for the throat for a quick victory. His experiences had created a gulf between himself and the class. A gulf that no-one had been able to cross completely, not even Sasuke. Kiba was now determined to change that; his vengeance depended on it.

' _I'm going to wring every bit of experience that Naruto has out of him. He needs to hurry up and get back!'_

xXx

Coffee was the only thing that had enabled Jiraiya to function as he continued taking care of the village. The invasion may have been over but the number of things that needed his attention hadn't diminished. The majority of rubble had been cleared away and it was only now that the final casualty list had been completed.

Surprisingly, the largest number of dead and injured were ANBU. After questioning the current ANBU commander, it turned out that even though the ANBU had kept their skills sharp with training, in general they lacked raw battle experience. Spars didn't count and the more recent ANBU inductees had paid the price. If it hadn't been for the current crop of Jonin sensei's, the villages losses almost certainly would've been higher.

' _Going to have to rotate the A and S rank mission roster. Gotta bleed the newer recruits soon, before another crisis hits and we are left under powered again.'_

Aside from his friend Tsume, the most significant names from the list that stood out to Jiraiya were: Iruka Umino and Anko Mitarashi. Jiraiya still had to find a replacement Academy teacher but the current list of available Chunin wasn't great.

Seeing Anko listed as dead gave him a pang of regret. The poor girl had idolised Orochimaru and been brainwashed before being discarded as worthless. Most people would've folded in her circumstances but she had found the strength to continue on and make a name for herself. That had earned his respect a long time ago.

Apparently she had taken it upon herself to blaze a safe trail for civilians to evacuate. She hadn't let the fact that an enormous snake had been in her path, she killed it anyway. In the end, it had been a jonin from Sound that had killed the tenacious woman. Her efforts weren't in vain though, she had successfully gotten forty two civilians to safety.

In total, he had lost thirty two ANBU, three Jonin/Special Jonin, twelve Chunin and four Genin with sixty three civilian deaths. The loss of those freshly graduated kids had enraged Konoha and only the knowledge that they would eventually march on Grass kept his more impulsive ninja from going AWOL and attacking every guilty party, possibly even disregarding the new peace with Sand.

Jiraiya sighed; exhaustion weighed him down but Jiraiya couldn't rest. He pulled over the next piece of his paperwork, this turned out to be an appeal for prices of food and lumber to be temporarily lowered to speed up the rebuilding process.

Just as he readied his pen, Tenzo Flickered into his office via the window. "Sir, I have come to report that Kakashi Hatake is AWOL. He seems to be accompanied by the remaining members of his Genin team; we can't find them in the village."

A fresh flood of adrenaline woke Jiraiya up. "I see, how long ago did this happen and how far do you think he managed to get?"

Tenzo paused in thought before he replied. "I first noticed his absence roughly twenty minutes ago. With his team, he probably managed to cover ten or so kilometres."

A brief flame of hope flared in Jiraiya's chest. He couldn't in good conscience send out a team to rescue Naruto, there was just too much to do but if Kakashi and his team had taken it upon themselves to save his godson, then Jiraiya wasn't going to get to angry about it.

"Tenzo, how long until it will be extremely difficult to catch Kakashi?"

"Roughly ten minutes sir. He knows how to move fast and cover his tracks."

"Alright, select one ANBU to bring them back, in about fifteen minutes."

"Understood sir."

Jiraiya couldn't see Tenzo's face due to his mask but he could tell that Tenzo was smiling. Tenzo left his office and Jiraiya turned back to his mountain of paperwork. The brief surge of energy faded away and his shoulders slumped.

' _Hurry up and save him Kakashi. You never struck me as hard headed enough to disregard your duty, I'd have to guess that he caught his team trying to sneak out and chose to escort them rather than risk Sasuke and Sakura leaving with Orochimaru still at large._

' _Ah, the details don't really matter all that much, I just want my godson back here safe and sound.'_

He snapped his fingers and one of his current ANBU guard appeared. "Deliver this scroll to Danzo. It details a new assignment for him."

As the ANBU left, Jiraiya rested his elbows on his desk.  _'So long as Danzo does what I order, I won't have to find a way to discipline him for basically operating his own private army on home soil. I better hear his report after this mission, otherwise I'll have to kill him.'_

xXx

If Onoki had known about Orochimaru and his scheme than he would've never sent Kurotsuchi on her mission. He was just glad that the messenger ninja she had sent gave him a report that said that nothing bad had happened to her or her team. She didn't outright say it but Onoki was under the impression that she wasn't the same young women that he had sent.

That his old rival and enemy Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead filled Onoki with a strange melancholy. All the old guard were falling. He couldn't even think of anyone else from his generation that were still kicking.

One of his ANBU appeared in his office without warning. "Sir, Kurotsuchi's team has returned. Looks like their sensei lit a fire underneath them."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Onoki waited for his granddaughter. Though he was eager to see her it wouldn't do to show it, a leader had to stay strong and not show his emotions willy nilly.

Onoki had been walking the tight rope that was being Tsuchikage with Shoma Nakamura as his Daimyo for far too long. Shoma's predecessor had been fairer and less psychotic and a lot easier to deal with.

' _I'm getting too old for this. My son is an able battle commander but lacks the finesse to battle in the world of politics. The same can be said of Akatsuchi._

' _I don't really have any other option. I'm going to have to up Kurotsuchi's training; she ticks all the boxes to be my successor, all she needs is time. She already has the brains to be a true leader.'_

His train of thought ended when Kurotsuchi and her team walked in. A short and official report followed, with Ara simply stating the facts. None of his team had been promoted but they had managed to avoid any serious fighting when the invasion started. Onoki dismissed them, he really wanted to know what his granddaughter had to say.

But it seemed that Kurotsuchi didn't know where to begin. She just sat in front of his desk looking uncertain. That in and of itself was unusual; Kurotsuchi was normally quite confident and self-assured.

Onoki decided to start for her. "So, did you complete your mission?"

Something flickered in her eyes but it was too quick for him to recognise. "No, in the Second Stage, Orochimaru, who was in disguise, got in my way. I didn't know it was him but I could tell that I was no match so I fled.

"I managed to carry my team into the Final Stage where I was actually paired up to fight Naruto one on one."

Onoki felt irritation bubble in his gut.  _'First name basis? This isn't going to be good.'_

Kurotsuchi continued talking, unaware of her grandfathers' inner plight, "I have more raw power but he out smarted me. I lost the fight and Naruto managed to figure out my true purpose but didn't hold it against me.

"He- he's far more mature than I ever expected him to be. He opened my eyes, what did he say again? 'Scars of the past never heal if you keep picking at them'. He than asked me if I was just an obedient tool of the village or my own person. So I made my choice, I can't hate Naruto for something his father did especially since Naruto hadn't even been born yet. So no, I won't complete the mission."

Kurotsuchi had started off uncertain but by the time she had finished, defiance was written all over her face.  _'Where did my little granddaughter go? She grew from a stubborn girl into a mature and strong woman. Well sensei, looks like I have found someone worthy.'_

He had to be sure though. Onoki sighed before he placed his head in his hands, elbows resting on his desk. He was the picture of disappointment.

"Do I mean so little to you? Does the Will of Stone mean nothing to you?"

There was a brief pause and Onoki guessed that she was gathering her thoughts.

"It's not like that gramps. I love our village, and my family but can't you see how holding onto grudges from the past will eventually cost our village? We can't progress as a people if you refuse to deal with foreigners or handle diplomacy. I'd go so far as to say that your blind hatred for a dead man is clouding your Will of Stone."

A slightly stunned silence filled the office. Onoki locked eyes with his granddaughter but she held his gaze without flinching. A rumbling chuckle began in Onoki's chest, slowly building until he couldn't hold it in and a fully belly laugh rang out.  _'Finally, I've found someone worthy sensei!'_

Managing to control himself, he looked at the surprised face of Kurotsuchi. "Ah my beloved granddaughter, you've made my day. I'll be the first to admit that it'll take more than one conversation for me to let go of the past but you have proven yourself to be a true Stone shinobi.

"The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, passed down the secrets of Dust Release to me. Its most closely guarded secret is that it isn't genetic. Anyone with the chakra affinities, Earth, Wind and Fire can learn how to use Dust Release.

"The only reason our village isn't swarming with Dust Release users is that I swore a solemn oath to my sensei that I would adhere to his standards before teaching it to anyone. They had to be a person of moral fibre, compassion and ultimately be responsible with power.

"I'm proud of you because by choosing to ignore a stubborn old man, you proved that you have integrity and can put the people before yourself. So prepare yourself, training starts tomorrow and it's going to be hell!"

xXx

Naruto ignored the hunger pains emanating from his stomach. Akari deliberately fed Naruto and Eri small amounts of food, it made them weaker and easier to control. It didn't help his gnawing hunger when Naruto gave Eri portions of his own meals. He couldn't bare seeing her face scrunch up with hunger. Eri had tried to stop him but Naruto couldn't be dissuaded; he had suffered lack of food before. It hadn't killed him then and it wouldn't now.

Hunger wasn't his only problem though. For the past five days, Akari had kept up a string of words designed to hurt him psychologically. From telling him that she had never seen a kid take to the Pit quite as well as he had to asking him pointed questions about just how much Naruto knew his Hokage and everything in between.

Naruto knew better than to let mere words get to him but all the same, bits and pieces seeped into his head unbidden. He couldn't refute the fact that some things she said seemed to add up. Naruto couldn't deny that there wasn't any mention of the Uzumaki clan in the village library. It also didn't make sense as to why the old man had stepped down. He hadn't yet passed his prime yet the Third Hokage gave up his power?

It wasn't enough to sway his loyalties but it definitely made sure that there was a long list of questions for the old man next time Naruto saw him.

For all of his troubles though, it didn't mean that Naruto was idle. He had managed to pick up an oddly sharp pebble the second day of his captivity. Using it, he had managed to slowly and carefully etch a low grade explosive seal onto his cuffs. It had been slow progress, he could only work on it when they rested for the night and only when Akari had finished her watch and gone to sleep. The other adults weren't quite as suspicious of simple kids.

It was just unfortunate that Akari had decided to be cautious and slap a seal similar to the one he had used in his fight against Kurotsuchi. The new seal was located on the outside of his eyepatch that Akari had found during a frisk and combined with his cuffs, using his own chakra was impossible.

He had tried to coach Eri to channel her chakra into her fingertip so that she could destroy the cuffs when they needed to run but hurried whisperings were not an ideal way to teach someone; especially something she had never done before.

' _I've lost track of how far we have run. It doesn't help that even if Eri manages to use her chakra and free Kurama from his shackles, I still don't know how to get away._

' _Kurama's chakra is poisonous to other people so I can't carry her while being buffed by his chakra and it's only with Kurama that I even have a chance at escape. What do I do!?'_

The group had paused in a small clearing in the deep forest for a five minute breather. Akari suddenly stiffened in alarm and Naruto was instantly on guard. The entire time they had been prisoners Akari hadn't been this tense.

A dead body flew out from the trees and landed on the ground nearby. Naruto recognised it as one of Akari's men. From the tree's two men stepped out. They were both wearing long black cloaks decorated with red clouds. The man on the left had a half mask like Kakashi and the one on the right held a three pronged scythe.

The masked man dusted his hands. "Thank you for going through the trouble of capturing the Nine Tails. As payment for this service, I'll grant a swift and painless death."

Akari scoffed. The rest of her team Flickered into the clearing behind her. "You got balls man. Don't you know who I am? Run or I'll destroy you."

A slightly maniacal laugh rang through the air. The one with the scythe finished his laughter with a question. "Oh we know who you are, Akari the Maelstrom but do you know who we are? Can you handle the might of the Akatsuki?"

Akatsuki? Naruto had never heard of them but judging by the way Akari had bent her knees in readiness they meant business. She murmed quietly to her men, "Watch the kids. None of you stand a chance against these men." Ignoring the whispered protests and injured pride Akari drew her sword and took a half step.

The masked man spoke again. "I'm Kakuzu and this is Hidan. You have something that belongs to us."

Hidan licked one of the blades on his scythe. "My Lord Jashin hungers for your blood. Become sacrifices for god!"

With a cry, Hidan leapt forward, scythe raised in the air. Akari blocked the downward swing with her sword. Suddenly a massive amount of Wind appeared and Naruto felt his body get thrown through the air. Eri was tucked in his arms and he intinctivly rolled so that he hit the ground first.

Looking around in alarm, Naruto saw that most of the trees had been obliterated. Since the attack hadn't been aimed at them, Akari's team had managed to survive and now on guard, they surrounded Naruto and Eri.

He spied Akari standing where she had been previously with what looked to be a shield made out of chakra hovering in the air in front of her. The horribly mangeld body of Hidan impossibly got to his feet. Before Naruto's very eyes, his wounds knitted together and soon he appeared good as new albiet with torn clothing.

"Impressive. You're the first person to live through that attack. Your blood shall please Jashin greatly!"

' _What the hell? First one to survive? They've done this attack multiple times, is he immortal?!'_

Akari channelled chakra into her right index finger. She drew a seal in the air and it glowed before a blast of Lightning shot out of it and hit Hidan squarely in the chest. Though he grunted in pain, he shrugged off the damage and renewed his attack.

' _This would be a good chance to escape but how to deal with Akari's last three men? More importantly, this Akatsuki seems to be interested in Kurama. Who's worse, Akari or Akatsuki? Who do I want to win here?'_


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey sorry about the wait. Here's a dump of the chapters I've done. I've been on holiday and while I found the time to update on FFN I kinda forgot about AoW. Sorry.

Though it pained him to admit it, Naruto couldn't help but feel a slight sense of awe as he watched Akari battle the men from Akatsuki. It was a level of combat that he had never seen before. Sure, the fight against Shukaku may've resulted in more damage to the landscape but in reality it was a battle between two slow moving giants.

S class ninja in heated battle was entirely different. They flitted about at speeds Naruto could barely see. It made Lee's fight with Gaara look slow and it was galling to see the difference between Akari and himself so clearly.

'Just how much training will I have to go through before I can get my revenge? How can I get to that level?'

Naruto had quickly deduced that Kakuzu was the stronger of the two. Hidan appeared to not be quite as fast as the others but that didn't stop him from fanatically attacking Akari. His slices were random but vicious. Naruto couldn't see why he was so determined to get 'just one drop of blood' as Hidan kept saying but that giant scythe would certainly do the job.

Hidan's level of speed wouldn't be a problem for Akari except Kakuzu had spawned four black masses with white masks. Though they seemed to be tied to one element, they managed to combine their attacks effectively.

To Naruto, it seemed that the only reason Akari hadn't fallen was due to her skill at Sealing and her Uzumaki chakra reserves. Her seals were used accurately and even without his eyes turned on, Naruto could tell that she was efficiently using every drop of chakra she had.

A grudging respect for her abilities was starting to form. Naruto couldn't help it, Akari had taken Sealing to a level that not even Jiraiya had imagined. Chakra shields, chains and seals that did things he couldn't recognise, Akari's strength spoke for itself.

As a result, the fight had turned into a rough stalemate; the fight could drag on for a long time.

Unfortunately it looked like Akari's men had come to the same conclusion. The shortest one turned to face Naruto.

"Looks like the boss is gonna be busy for a while. Whaddya boys think about 'scratching that itch?'." The amount of lechery contained in the last two words chilled Naruto to his core.

The man behind Naruto gave a disgusted snort. "Look Mako, you're the only one here depraved enough for that. You're on your own and don't forget, the girl is our leverage to make sure Uzumaki behaves."

The last man wasn't interested either. "Teenager's are the youngest I'll go. Still though, with the seals Akari used, the brat shouldn't be any trouble to handle so I guess the girl's usefulness is over. Just do your business out of sight. I want to keep my breakfast down."

Mako just grunted in acknowledgement. "Yeah. If the girl is truly useless now, then I'll make her my pet until she gets too old. Then I'll hand her off to anyone in need of a quick lay."

Mako knew just how disgusted his 'comrades' were with his preferences but it was only polite to ask. Manners cost nothing, even if everyone else labelled you a monster.

Horror gripped Naruto. He clutched Eri to his chest so tightly that she squirmed slightly in discomfort. She had heard the words but the meaning was thankfully lost on her. All she knew was that something had scared her big brother.

Naruto began to back away from Mako but his back hit the man behind him. There was no escape that way. He desperately tried to channel his chakra but nothing happened. He was powerless to stop Mako's advance.

A bunch of assorted animals appeared suddenly and attacked the three men. The animals appeared to be made out of ink. Seizing the opportunity, Naruto turned and sprinted away. He would keep Eri free if it was the last thing he did.

A pale teen Flickered in front of Naruto. "Uzumaki, I'm Sai and I am a Konoha ninja. Run south east, I'll buy you as much time as I can."

His words were flat and monotone. His face a blank mask but at that second, Naruto could've kissed it. He had no way of knowing if Sai was legitimately his comrade but getting Eri away was the priority. Even if Sai was shady, what he offered was far better than staying here.

He looked at Sai with desperation. "Quick, channel some chakra into the seal on my cuffs and take off my eyepatch. They are restricting my chakra flow."

An instant later and Naruto felt Kurama's old and familiar warmth. Gathering his chakra, Naruto Flickered away for all that he was worth.

Sai turned back to face Akari's men. His animals hadn't lasted very long. Sai had tailed the group long enough to ID all the men present and with two of them being Jonin, he knew that his chance of survival was zero. Sai had done everything he could do to ensure the success of his mission, the only thing left was to buy as much time possible, little that it might be.

xXx

Naruto was too focused on running to think about Sai but Naruto knew that once he slowed down and got a minute to reflect that he would regret leaving Sai behind. The odds were definitely stacked against him and Naruto was foolish enough to hope that it would all work out.

"There will be time for regret later Naruto. Get Eri out of here!"

'Good to hear from you to. I can't go at my absolute top speed because I'm holding Eri. If I cover myself in your red chakra cloak, Eri will be poisoned. Any ideas?'

He couldn't see it but Naruto's whiskers had become exaggerated and feral. His incisors had grown but he was deliberately lowering his usage of Kurama's chakra. The risk was too high; what would be the point of using the cloak to flee if Eri got hurt and possibly died anyway?

Kurama paused before answering. "Don't worry about fatigue, I have plenty of chakra, use it as you see fit. Depending on how much time Sai buys us, there is a chance they will catch up. Jonin are faster than anything you can do currently. That's just the way it is, Jonin are highly respected for a reason.

"Have you tried Summoning? Couldn't the Toads reverse summon both of you out? If not, surely Gamabunta would help you fight?"

A brief surge of hope flared in his chest. He hadn't thought of that. Not bothering to stop running, Naruto gathered the needed chakra and tried to summon Gamabunta but nothing happened. He tried again but the lack of any amphibians made him want to scream in frustration. He managed to stop it at the last second; it wouldn't do to scare Eri unnecessarily.

'Kurama, I can't Summon anything. Do you have any ideas?'

"Considering how complex Akari's seals were, perhaps she put another seal on you while you were sleeping? Or maybe it was in one of the meals she fed you, a seal designed to cut of a summoner and his summons. I'm not sure but that's the most likely answer. If you had the time, you could inspect your body for this seal but you don't. Our only option now is to run as fast and far as we can."

Naruto grit his teeth. That certainly made sense. He made a mental note to copy the seal before removing it, a seal like that would be very useful.

Naruto was forcing his body to move as fast as it possibly could. In his heart of hearts, Naruto knew that there was a very good chance that Sai had been cut down quickly and his flight for freedom cut short. Both he and Kurama knew that there was only one real way to ensure Eri didn't suffer but neither could bear thinking about it.

A mere seven minutes later, his Byakugan picked up Akari's men following behind. It looked like Sai had managed to kill one but even with only two men left, Naruto knew that so long as he held Eri, his ability to fight back was limited.

Naruto quickly used a clone jutsu to create several illusionary Naruto and Eri's. They all dashed off in different directions. He wanted to use solid clones but the seal cutting him off from the toads had also cut him off from their abilities so he couldn't use Oil and Naruto had never bothered learning any of the other elemental clone jutsus. He hadn't thought of it, he had Oil; why would he need anything else? He had even said no to Kakashi sensei when he suggested that Naruto learn the Shadow Clone jutsu; Naruto hadn't seen the point and now Eri was paying the price.

Over a few kilometres, they steadily gained ground on Naruto. Knowing that he couldn't out run them, he landed and drew an explosive seal in the dirt and filled it with an enormous amount of chakra. Taking out the pebble he had used to etch his cuffs with, Naruto designed the seal to go off the moment something touched it. He than tossed the pebble in the air above the seal and took off again.

'I doubt it will go unnoticed but the explosion should be big enough that it won't matter.'

He was roughly a hundred meters away from the seal when it detonated. Naruto felt a grim satisfaction as his Byakugan showed him one of the men get caught in the explosion and launched into the air. His satisfaction stopped as the one who had been caught was flying in the air towards him and their chakra network seemed to be working just fine. The man flew over Naruto's position and landed in front. He wore a layer of hardened stone as armour to shield himself from the explosion and used the concussive force to his advantage.

Naruto came to a skidding stop. The other man had caught up by that point and Naruto's position was in between and at this distance, his Flicker wouldn't make a difference.

"Naruto," Kurama's voice was the softest Naruto had ever heard. "I'm sorry but we both know what you have to do. There's no other way."

Tears filled Naruto's eyes. He didn't want this, it wasn't fair. He couldn't out run them or out fight them without Kurama's chakra and that wasn't possible with Eri. He was somehow cut off from the Toads; there was no other escape.

He couldn't set her down and take the fight to them since he was out numbered. The other man might not want to enslave or rape Eri but had also mentioned that she was leverage to control him. If she died as a result of his own selfish actions Naruto wouldn't be able to look himself in the eye. He didn't entertain the thought that the other man wouldn't seize her to stop Naruto from fighting especially if he started using Kurama's chakra. His main priority is making sure that I don't escape and once I did, Mako would get his hands on Eri. That cant happen.

'There's no other way out. I have no other choice. Illusions clearly don't work and I don't have a way to make solid clones.

'I guess it comes down to whether Eri would prefer living her life as a sex slave with no freedom or hope or death? I know I would choose death every time but I can't ask her since she doesn't have any idea how bad the situation is right now. All she knows is that death is bad and would undoubtably say that she wants the other option without a clue to what it entails.'

Mako was walking towards him a terrible hunger on his face. Naruto looked down at his sister. The moment had gotten to him and for the first time in years, he spoke with his actual voice.

"Eri, you are the best sister anyone could ever ask for. I love you kiddo."

Eri looked up and smiled. She sensed that something bad was going to happen but trusted Naruto enough to protect her. "I love you to Naruto even more than Sasuke but don't tell him I said that!"

Burning the image of her smile into his memory, Naruto placed his hand on Eri's back, directly behind her heart. He struck her chakra point and Eri died instantly and without pain.

Sobs wracked his body and he fell to his knees cradling Eri's body to his chest. All thought had stopped, Naruto couldn't do anything but cry. He had protected his sister from a terrible fate but it had cost him everything.

"Great. He went and spoiled the fun. Well, most of it; she is still warm."

Naruto's eyes glazed over. His whole body burned with rage.

'After all that he still… he… that monster….'

His fury boiled over and Naruto's world exploded with red.

xXx

The battling forms of Akari, Kakuzu and Hidan all came to a stop when a terrible chakra flared into existence and looking south east, a pillar of red chakra could be seen towering into the sky.

There was a faint sonic boom and there a few meters away stood the form that Uzumaki had taken. Though it had front arms it was currently on all fours, with four chakra tails waving around. Its skin was dark red and its face resembled a monster. In its right claw, Akari could just make out the head and face of Mako.

Akari had seen Bee transform enough to recognise an incomplete Tailed Beast transformation. She had a good idea about what had caused it; Mako always was a slave to his perverse nature. This just made her life and mission a lot harder.

It gave a sudden roar and Akari instinctively Flickered to her right to dodge a chakra fist. Not to be ignored, Hidan quickly crossed the distance and swung his scythe into the beast. The scythe broke into pieces and failed to cause any damage. A claw reached out and gripped Hidan by the neck, before slamming him into the ground. The beast then repeated its action, slamming Hidan down into the ground again and again. The savagery briefly shocked both Akari and Kakuzu but they kept their eyes sharp. This monster was fast.

The beast roared again and gave itself a shake. Dozens of tiny chakra balls flew into the air and started to gather into one large ball.

Akari knew that if a Tailed Beast Bomb was fired, she would die. She had to stop the attack before it finished; hastily, she drew a complicated seal in the air and converted a large chunk of her chakra into raw energy. It was similar to what the beast was doing but on a smaller scale. She fired a thin blue beam aimed right for the epicentre of the Tailed Beast Bomb.

A colossal explosion erupted and Akari threw up a chakra shield to prevent herself from being blown away. Yet another roar sounded and this one had enough force in it to blow the smoke away. Astoundingly, the beast hadn't taken any visible damage but all that remained of Hidan was a bloody ring with no finger.

Kakuzu decided that a tactical retreat would be best. Akari had managed to destroy two of his masks when Hidan had been stupid enough to get caught in a trap. Tangling with two opponents like this without his partner was definitely not a good idea. He was loyal to Akatsuki but intelligent enough to see that Akari was in a weakened state and the odds of the Nine Tails still being free after he calmed down were high. It would be best to return and try capture the brat another day.

Akari felt Kakuzu's chakra signature grow weaker as he ran away. The odds of victory were not in her favour. If she was fresh than she had a good chance at subduing the rampaging Uzumaki and she was nearly spent and slight burns ran up her left leg.

Akari was forced to move when the beast attacked again. It appeared to be operating on instinct and Akari thanked her lucky stars. It was easier dealing with a mad animal than a ninja in that state with complete control, just like Bee.

Chakra chains and arms flew through the air as both fighters tried to pin the other down without success. Small bursts of pure chakra were fired by the beast and Akari was hard pressed to dodge them all. She needed all the chakra she had left for her chains, they were her best bet to subdue to the incomplete Nine Tails which meant she couldn't hide behind her chakra shields.

Two giant chakra arms came at her from either side and Akari buried herself into the ground to avoid being sandwiched. As she waited for the danger to pass one of the tails had burrowed underground as well and wrapped around her waist. Akari was unceremoniously wrenched through the ground until she popped up behind the beast.

She used her chains to pry herself free of the tail before leaping away. As she got to her feet, she made eye contact with the beast. Her brown eyes met the pure white, pupil less eyes before dread pooled in her belly as one of the eyes slowly formed into a Sharingan.

All thoughts of her mission left her mind and the only thing she focused on now was survival. An incomplete Nine Tails with a Sharingan? An impossible task.

xXx

Naruto felt stuck, almost as if he was stuck in mud. His mind was hazy and he couldn't remember what had happened after he kill-, after Eri died.

"Naruto, snap out of it and take control! I can only influence, the seal prevents me from controlling you in this state!"

Wait what? What was Kurama talking about? He tried to rub his eyes but he couldn't move his arms.

"Remember what happened. You lost control and allowed your rage to spiral out of control and influence the seal. You are currently in an incomplete transformation but with you like this, your body is rampaging like an untamed beast.

"I'm sorry to say but my own fury over Mako probably played a large part in your current state but I cannot control anything. I'm helpless and can only watch what happens through your eyes.

"You are stronger then your rage. Take back control and avenge Eri. You subconsciously killed Mako already but you deserve the chance to remember ending Akari's life in your own terms."

'He's right. I need to focus!'

It was quite difficult; like trying to hold water in your hand. Every time he thought he was making progress he slipped and it became harder for him to think. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot and his face haggard. He looked terrible but steely determination crossed his features.

'YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS NARUTO! HOW WILL I BE ABLE TO LOOK ERI IN THE EYE IF I FALL HERE TODAY!? I WILL TAKE BACK CONTROL BEFORE SEEING HER IN THE AFTERLIFE!'

With all of his strength, Naruto ripped control back and found himself blinking in bright sunlight. He brought his hand up to his face and saw that it was covered in dark red chakra and clawed.

He snapped his eyes to Akari. It was time to pay her back for all the suffering she had inflicted upon him and his friends.

Hitomi, Kaito, Koba, Sora and Muta. They had all died in the Pit, the first actual people he had ever befriended and they died trying to save him.

Akari had almost killed his mum herself and now Eri was dead thanks to her blackmail. She was going to die, slowly.

Naruto ignored the rampant turmoil that was Kurama's chakra and channelled his own. He saw the world slow down as his Sharingan came into focus.

He Flickered directly behind Akari and reading her dodge, swiped one of his tails directly into her path. She bounced along the ground before spring to her feet. Her left wrist pointed in an odd direction, it appeared broken.

'This is incredible. In this form, my speed and strength are insane. My movements are fast enough so that I can actually hit Jonin class fighters instead of just impotently watching as I get hit.'

Once Naruto also activated his Byakugan it was quickly made apparent that Akari simply wasn't fast enough to completely dodge his attacks. Her chains still posed a big problem however now that Naruto was able to think rationally, he stopped rushing in headlong and trapping himself.

The largest amount of chains Akari had summoned appeared and lunged towards him. With his Byakugan, he could see the chains that had been hidden underground. With his combined eyes showing the predicted path of the chains Naruto formed a plan. He would appear to fall for the trap and let Akari drop her guard before turning the tables on her.

Naruto dutifully weaved around the chains and acted surprised when chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around his body, legs and arms as well as one for each of his tails. Naruto struggled fiercely but couldn't get free.

Akari moved closer. It made sense, the less chain she had to make with her chakra the easier she could subdue Naruto. Once she got in range, Naruto pulled on Kurama's reserves and another two tails formed. He quickly flung them forward, piecing her left leg and right shoulder. He began drawing her near, ignoring her groans of pain.

A spine and bony arms soon formed with a fox skull encasing Naruto's head. Naruto quickly used his bony left arm to seize Akari by the throat. Bringing her face to face, he said "Psylink" and the world went black.

Naruto flung himself towards the brightest spark in Akari's memories. It was time to destroy this vile excuse for a woman. He forced Akari's consciousness to join him, he was going to make her watch as he ruined everything that made her, her.

Naruto was soon shocked to realise that he was watching Akari's wedding day. Who in their right mind would even love a monster like her? Still, the look of pure love on her face as she gazed at her husband couldn't be faked.

'Well then. If he means so much to her, I'll start by erasing him from her memories.'

This was using Psylink far more intricately than he had ever attempted but he managed. He followed the same feeling of the man through her memories, back to their first encounter. Naruto ran into some kind of barrier. It felt like a genjutsu but using the power of Psylink, Naruto was able to shatter the barrier and continue down the thread that connected Akari to her husband.

He also found Akari could somehow sense his intentions through the connection and was desperately fighting, trying to hold onto what remained of her happiness. Her frustration at her powerlessness was incredibly fulfilling.

When he found the start of the thread, Naruto found himself seeing a smoking ruin. Screams filled the air and blood stains were ever where. Idly, Naruto sensed Akari's confusion; this shouldn't be the start of her life with Ryu.

A young teenage girl wearing a Whirlpool headband, ran through a shattered doorway. "Mum! Dad says he managed to find spare seats on a boat. We have to go!"

The girls voice trailed off when she saw the living room. Her mother lay dead on the ground, throat slit, eyes staring but unseeing. Her clothing had been torn off and there was a strange smell that the girl had never encountered.

A man stood in shadow before he walked forward into the light. It was clearly a younger version of the man at the wedding.

Confused horror gripped present day Akari. This wasn't how she had met Ryu. Ryu had saved her from Mist ninja and spirited her off to the Cloud village. He had saved her life and in return she gave him everything. Her love, admiration and loyalty. He couldn't have killed her mother, it just wasn't possible.

"Oh look, another survivor. How lucky for me, Stone have been snapping them up quite eagerly. Come with me girl."

Young Akari took a step back, tears filling her eyes. "Y-you killed my mum! I'll kill you!"

In a blur, the man had used acupuncture to paralyse her movements. He tutted, "Now now, calm down. We want survivors to cooperate so that we can eventually breed our own loyal Uzumakis.

"How should I get you to cooperate? Oh yes, that should work. I'll implant false memories to sway you to my side and who knows, maybe I'll get to find out if you are just as tasty as your mother. Pity she wasn't an Uzumaki or I could keep the set."

Ryu placed a hand on Akari's forehead and got to work. The memory faded to black.

Akari was understandably horrified. She had slept with the man who had raped and killed her mother!?

Naruto was too angry to care about her feelings however. Seeing that her connection to Ryu had been false all along, he instead went to the darkest part of her memories. He could make her suffer more by forcing her to watch her worst memory again.

Rain fell from the sky as Akari cradled a small body to her chest. Tears mixed with rain drops as blood stained her vest.

"My boy, my poor boy."

Mist had killed her son and taken Ryu captive. He was a member of the Barrier corps and Mist wanted the secrets on how to infiltrate the village. Akari had lobbied for a rescue team to head out but the Raikage had denied her. He would lose more men than he would save, especially since he could just change the seals guarding the village and making Ryu's knowledge redundant.

She had abandoned Cloud that same day. She would save her husband, with or without the village. Of course she would learn that Ryu had been executed when Mist realised how little use he actually was.

Present day Akari was a mess. She had just learned that the great love of her life had truly been a monster not to mention the fact that she had relieved the emotions of her son's death.

A fair amount of Naruto's anger had been quenched after that memory. He wouldn't be human if he wasn't affected on some level but just because Akari had suffered didn't give her the right to make other people suffer.

He stopped thinking of ways to hurt her, she had enough to sort through currently. Instead, Naruto ripped everything she knew about seals from her memory and copied it to his own. It would come in handy later. He did the same for her arsenal of jutsu and how to use chakra chains. Naruto wasn't sure if he had been born with the ability, but it might come in handy if he had kids or if Karin could use them.

He also took everything he could find about Uzo and the people. Naruto wanted to feel closer to his mother's people.

Naruto saw that it was Kabuto who had provided Akari with the information about Eri. He would die. Apparently Akari was planning on handing him over to the Stone Daimyo. So in a way, it was his fault Eri had been dragged into this mess. Shoma Nakamura would pay for that as well.

Try as he might, Naruto couldn't see a way to make Akari suffer anymore. Her whole life had been a lie not to mention that she had lost a child. He ended the Psylink; he had taken everything of use.

Naruto came to, blinking as he saw Akari still in his grip. Dropping Akari he stepped away and calmed down. Naruto felt the incomplete stage fade away and he immediately felt pain. Seemed like his skin had been burned away in the transformation. Kurama set to work healing the damage and soon Naruto found his injuries fading away.

During this process, Naruto had ignored Akari. After Kurama had finished Naruto saw that she was still lying in the heap that he had drop her in, crying. See that she had his attention, Akari said, "Kill me. I know you want to. Avenge your sister."

Naruto frowned in thought. "No. I stole your knowledge of seals and Uzumaki heritage as well as all your jutsu. You have nothing to threaten me with. You are no threat to anyone.

"You married the man who raped and killed your mother. Live with that, death is what you want after all.

"I understand you now but I cannot forgive. You chose to work at the Pit, you chose to make me suffer. You've earned every bit of pain here today."

Akari gave a weak snort. "Well you're not wrong kid. For what its worth, I'm sorry about your sister. She was innocent and didn't deserve this."

Using the last of her strength, Akari pulled out a kunai and plunged it right into her heart. Akari Uzumaki died with a faint smile on her lips. She had died on her terms.

Naruto looked down on her corpse. Conflicting emotion wore inside of him. He knew that she'd had everything coming to her but he also saw just how badly she had suffered at the end. He wasn't sure if he should've tried to help one of the last Uzumakis in existence like he had with Gaara or if she would've even let him. Pride is a strange thing.

Deciding to be the bigger man, he used one of her scrolls to seal her body. He would give her a burial when he got back to the village. Naruto spied the body of Sai and the Jonin he had managed to take down in his attempt to get Naruto home. He sealed Sai into a scroll as well.

As he made his way to pick up Eri, Naruto buried his emotions. He would deal with them at a later time but now the important thing was getting Eri back to the village so that she could be buried with her family.

xXx

As the members of Team Seven jumped across the tree branches, following Pakkun, Kakashi found himself still feeling a little miffed. He still couldn't believe that he had allowed two twelve year olds to manipulate him into getting their way. He was meant to be made of sterner stuff than that but apparently, the jonin had a weakness for his first ever Genin team, a weakness they had ruthlessly exploited. Some genius prodigy he had turned out to be.

He had managed to rationalize it to a certain extent. Kakashi wanted nothing more then to go find Naruto but was mature enough to see that the need of the village outweighed the need of one boy- even if that boy happened to be Naruto. That was most likely why he had only put up a token resistance while confronting Sasuke and Sakura after he caught them trying to sneak out of the village.

Kakashi was being responsible. It wouldn't be responsible to let his team go out by themselves without a Jonin escort, especially since Orochimaru had expressed interest in Sasuke. Kakashi was being a reasonable adult, surely Jiraiya would see that. Kakashi conveniently forgot that it would be far safer for Sasuke to remain in the village.

Oh, who was he kidding; it all boiled down to the fact that Kakashi couldn't handle losing anyone else or at least he didn't think so. He had lost Obito, Rin, Minato and his father. Loss and regret were the biggest defining features of his life and Kakashi was absolutely done with them. He would save Naruto, even if it was the last thing he did.

Kakashi was broken from his musing when Pakkun stopped. Before his very eyes Kakashi saw his steadfast companion shiver in unmistakable fear. The nindog looked Kakashi in the eye, "Kakashi. All of a sudden, I felt an overwhelming chakra. The only thing I can compare it to is when that Gaara kid unleashed Shukaku. I can't tell you much more than that, other than it is still a fair distance away."

"The chakra is potent and unmistakably evil in nature." Pakkun continued. "I think it's a safe bet that Naruto is invol-"

Pakkun was cut off when a distant explosion was heard to their west. Looking over, a massive column of smoke rose into the air; Kakashi judged it to be roughly three kilometres away.

Kakashi turned to his students. "Judging by what Pakkun just said and knowing that Naruto has the ability to wield the Nine Tails chakra, I think it would be a safe guess to say that Naruto is involved with that explosion. Let's go but keep your eyes sharp guys; There's no telling what we are running towards."

They had been running for close to five minutes before Pakkun told them that he no longer sensed the oppressive chakra. It was another ten minutes and a wind change before Pakkun got excited.

"I can smell Naruto! The wind changed and now I can lead you right to him!"

Team Seven all perked up at those words. They would finally be able to see their missing teammate. Their elation quickly tempered when Naruto came into sight. He was kneeling next to a small body and tears fell down his face.

A soft gasp could be heard from Sakura, as both Kakashi and her reached same conclusion. Looking at Sasuke, Kakashi could tell that the boy also understood what had happened but Sasuke's face had closed off. Kakashi couldn't get a read on him.

They slowly approached; Sakura knelt next to Naruto, wrapping one arm around him. She started murmuring soft words of comfort to him, while Sasuke stood off to one side and gazed down at Eri's body. Kakashi was still trying to think of what to say to Naruto when Naruto's eyes snapped up to his.

"Twenty minutes. If you were here  _just_  twenty minutes ago Eri would still be alive. What took you so long!?"

Shocked silence met Naruto's question. Sakura looked shocked at Naruto while Sasuke and Kakashi exchanged surprised glances.

Kakashi wasn't an expert on dealing with other people's trauma. He only had his own experiences to work with which was why he didn't say anything. He knew that Naruto couldn't be held accountable for his words right now, as grief clouded his judgement. Instead, Kakashi walked forward and sat on the ground on Naruto's free side. He fully intended to sit in silence until Naruto found it within himself to talk. Space to breath and think was all the he himself had wanted after the mission to Kannabi Bridge.

Everyone else seemed to be waiting for Naruto to respond but he didn't. Silence stretched on, but no one broke it. A soft scuff could be heard and Kakashi looked to see Sasuke shift his position until he was directly looking at Naruto.

"Naruto, what happened? How did- How did my sister die?"

They were simple questions but when he heard them Naruto's face seemed to crumple. Kakashi was too experienced to allow his emotions to show on his face as Naruto haltingly explained just how depraved Mako had been. Exactly how terrible Eri's fate would've been if Naruto hadn't shown her true mercy and love.

At the start, Naruto had been soft and the words almost too hard to speak but as he continued it seemed as if Naruto couldn't stop himself. The tension eased from his shoulders, but the expression of guilt didn't leave his face.

The fact that the Nine Tails had appeared to rage out of control was alarming but Kakashi was also reassured when Naruto explained that he had managed to regain control. Still, it was something to mention to Jiraiya.

When Naruto finished explaining exactly how he had defeated Akari, the faces of his students told Kakashi everything he needed to know about what they thought.

Pure horror had been replaced with sorrow and pity on Sakura's face. It was clear that she had eventually agreed with Naruto's decision, but pity definitely wasn't good.

' _I'll have to talk to her about guarding her expressions. Pity is the last thing Naruto wants. If she's not careful, Naruto will lash out unintentionally.'_

Sasuke had managed to keep some form of control over his features but even he couldn't hide his disappointment and anger. Perhaps Sasuke disagreed that Eri should die, not realising that in almost every instance anybody would choose death over sexual servitude. Or perhaps, it was the fact someone that he had come to see as a brother had killed someone he saw as a sister.

Ah, that was almost certainly his problem, Kakashi realized. This situation was probably reminding Sasuke far too much about Itachi and his betrayal.

' _I've got my work cut out for me with Sasuke. I hope he has matured enough to see the differences between Naruto and Itachi as well as their actions. Sasuke needs all the bonds he has otherwise it would be all too easy for him to be consumed by vengeance._

For Naruto himself, it was the first time Kakashi had been able to see past the poker face that Naruto bravely kept in place. The boy was so painfully conscience of his actions and their possible punishments. Guilt was clearly eating the boy alive. For possibly the first time, Naruto truly regretted killing someone. Kakashi knew that Naruto had spent years killing others in the Pit but for the first time he had killed someone he didn't want to lose.

' _I never thought I'd doubt Naruto's fortitude but I'm going to have to keep an eye on him; The guilt might drive him into self-harm or possibly suicide. It's clear Naruto needs guidance and reassurance, but he probably doesn't want it from me. I'll have to get him back to Mikoto fast, she is the best person for him right now._

' _I'm so under qualified for this. I'm going to make a talk with Inoichi compulsory. All three have suffered far more than twelve-year olds have any right to and frankly they should've gotten counselling a long time ago.'_

Coming to a decision, Kakashi pulled out a spare storage scroll. He sealed Eri away and placed the scroll into his equipment pouch. He dusted his pants off as he stood and was just about to tell his team that they had better get back to the village when Naruto spoke.

"Sasuke, I can see that look in your eye. It's time you knew the truth about Itachi."

xXx

Sasuke wasn't quite sure what he felt when he heard what Naruto said, but it was a mix between hatred, confusion and intense sorrow. The boy listened in silence as Naruto revealed that his brother wasn't the monster that everyone said he was.

Itachi was a hero, one who had put his village above everything else. Sasuke knew that he ought to be surprised that his father was a traitor, but he wasn't. Fugaku had always been cold and prideful. Sasuke could see exactly how the clan would conclude that rebellion was the only way.

By this point Sasuke had wondered a little away from his team, facing away from them. He needed the space to hide his tears. Intense relief battled with the feeling of betrayal; not from Itachi but from his mother and Naruto. They had known the truth this entire time and didn't tell him. How could they do that to him!?

Not turning around, Sasuke asked, "Why didn't you tell me all this sooner? The first time we met? Why did you think I didn't deserve the truth!?"

Sasuke sensed that Naruto had walked up behind him but didn't turn around. Naruto didn't deserve the courtesy of eye contact right now.

"The Third Hokage ordered our silence on the matter. Itachi is currently on a vital undercover mission. He had to be labelled a traitor, guilty of heinous crimes so that he could infiltrate a criminal organisation called Akatsuki.

"I can only guess but I think the Third decided that your piece of mind was worth less than the success of Itachi's mission. I'm sorry."

Sasuke felt like he was drowning with the amount of varying emotions that he was feeling. His body was stiff and mind a whirlwind. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly, the last words of Naruto's response clicked in Sasuke's head.

' _Sorry? After everything he just put me through Naruto has the gall to say sorry to me?!'_

Sasuke's anger built and built until he could no longer contain it. He spun around and decked Naruto as hard as he could. Naruto saw it coming but made no move to dodge. The fist slammed into his left cheek, rocking his head back.

"You don't get to lay that on me and then apologise, idiot!"

Unable to calm himself, Sasuke punched Naruto again. This time Naruto made a half-hearted attempt to block it. For the first time in minutes, the boys locked eyes and Sasuke saw that Naruto wanted this. He wanted to be punished for killing Eri. Sasuke wasn't thinking clearly and therefore found it far too easy to assault his best friend.

That set the tone, Sasuke hitting Naruto for that he was worth with Naruto just barely fighting back. They both knew that if Naruto simply stood there than either Kakashi or Sakura would interfere.

xXx

Sakura wasn't sure just how long Sasuke and Naruto had been fighting but she did know that it had to be several hours. The sun had almost set but that didn't appear to matter at all to her teammates. Sakura was itching to stop them but Kakashi had stopped her.

What did she care about Sasuke needing to work off his stress? Why should it matter that apparently Naruto was using this as an opportunity to punish himself? This was her team and they were being completely stupid. The only reason she hadn't already acted was that they had stuck to taijutsu and that if either used ninjutsu Kakashi had assured her that he would step in.

Sakura still thought they were being dumb boys but apparently Kakashi could see some reason to allow this fight that she just couldn't fathom.

Sure, today had been stressful to the extreme. First, she discovered that Naruto had been forced to kill his sister as a mercy than she heard how Itachi wasn't really a traitor who slaughtered his clan to test his limits. Apparently Itachi was a loyal shinobi who had only followed orders to prevent unnecessary loss of life. She wasn't arrogant enough to think that she couldn't understand Sasuke's mindset now but surely, he was smart enough to realise that punching Naruto wasn't going to accomplish anything.

"Sakura, I know this is hard but listen,"

She didn't take her eyes off her friends but listened to her sensei.

"I know you think this all pointless and in a way you're right. However, neither of them sees it that way and if I stopped them now than they would fight away from us and the potential for serious injury would rise.

"Sasuke is angry. Rightfully so, I never imagined Itachi was so loyal to the village that he would kill his father. Sasuke has a complicated past with his brother and spent the last several years despising his older brother. For him to now find out that his hatred was misplaced is devastating. Sasuke is lost and trying to find some sense of self, his main purpose for living is gone. Add to the fact that Eri has died and Sasuke is in no state for rational thought.

"Naruto is in pain. I believe he mainly told Sasuke the truth today knowing that Sasuke would snap and attack him. Naruto is looking for something to take his mind off the pain of losing his sister, even if that means taking on physical pain by Sasuke's hand. I have no doubt that Naruto wanted to tell Sasuke the truth for a while but couldn't due to orders. I'm not an expert on these things but its possible that Naruto may even feel that he isn't worthy of being called Sasuke's adopted brother anymore after killing Eri and is seeking Sasuke's forgiveness via a beating.

"Both boys need this now. If we stop them they will resent us and simply try again without our knowledge. Don't worry though, I will stop them if it gets serious."

Sakura idly ran her free hand over her scarred bite marks. She still didn't fully agree but knew that she wouldn't be able to convince Kakashi to stop her friends from fighting.

xXx

Naruto grimaced as Sasuke landed another punch on his face. He knew his face had to be a mass of blood and bruises, but he didn't really care.

Naruto could feel Kurama's anger simmering. Kurama clearly didn't agree with Naruto's actions but hadn't said a word. Naruto appreciated that, he really didn't want any kind of advice right now. All he wanted was to fill the aching void in his chest that Eri had left behind.

It was probably time to block an attack now. He'd taken the last three and anymore might force Kakashi to step in. Naruto did block the next punch and for good measure side stepped a kick before letting Sasuke nail him on the chin with another punch. This time Sasuke had put his body weight behind it and Naruto crashed to the floor.

It was a hell of a punch and it was only Naruto's history at the Pit that enabled him to stay conscious. Naruto looked up at Sasuke's panting form. For the first time in hours, Sasuke spoke.

"Enough; I'm still angry at you but I can't keep hitting someone who wants to be hit. Get up Naruto. I need to have a talk with mum."

Sasuke then turned and made his way back the rest of their team.

Naruto rubbed his chin. His whole face burned in pain and even if Kurama had offered to heal him, which he hadn't, Naruto would've refused. It was a beating he felt he deserved, and he would wear his bruises with silent stoicism.

Not allowing any pained groans to escape his lips, Naruto forced himself back to his feet. As he slowly drew level with his team, they didn't say a word. Kakashi nodded once and Sakura gave him a concerned glance but by unspoken agreement, Team Seven began slowly walking back to the village.

xXx

Hinata was feeling lost, even though she was sitting in her room. This wasn't an unusual occurrence but now it was more prevalent than ever. The attack on the village had hurt everyone- especially the Hyuga clan. The Hyugas had been highly targeted by the enemy and their compound had suffered a lot of damage. It was only today that most of the rubble had been cleared away. Hinata supposed that she was lucky, only a small portion of the main branch building suffered damage.

' _I wish there was something I could do to help everyone. Naruto is gone, Kiba is so angry and Shino has become even more distant. All my friends are suffering and I can't do anything to help them. Am I really as useless as the Elders think?'_

Hurried footsteps caught Hinata's attention. Her door flew open and her father looked at her urgently,

"Hinata, when was the last time you saw Neji?"

"Um, before the Chunin Exam Finals. Why?"

"Because no one in the clan has seen him since before the attack. It was thought that he might be under the rubble or in another part of the village? The ANBU have informed me that they have completed their search of the village for casualties and Neji wasn't among them."

"I'm afraid that he has been abducted for his Byakugan."

Hinata had let out a horrified gasp when she had heard about Neji's kidnapping. Sure, her cousin had his problems with her, but that hadn't ever stopped her from admiring her talented relative. Neji had been through so much and just as it looked like he might turn over a new leaf he was taken.

"Can we find him father? Do you know who has him?"

"I don't think we can find him. Assuming that he was taken in the chaos of the invasion, the trail has gone cold. As for who; the leading theory is one of the villages involved in the attack. There is a chance that another village is involved, such as Cloud but I don't think that likely. Considering that the bulk of the ninja who attacked our compound were from Grass, that is who I think took him."

Hinata's vision began to blur as tears formed in her eyes. "We have to get him back, father! Neji doesn't deserve this!"

Hiashi nodded. "I know and I will do my best. I dispatched a branch member on a tracking mission and I plan on hiring the village on a mission to find Neji. Just, please be careful. If I lost you or your sister, I don't know what I would do."

Hiashi closed the door and walked away. Hinata fell onto her bed burying her face into her pillow.

' _I thought I knew what I was signing up for becoming a ninja but lately things are getting too personal. Do I really want to be a ninja now? No, I can't give up! Not until Neji and Naruto are found and brought back!'_

xXx

Danzo Shimura had not expected a visit from Itachi Uchiha when he woke up this morning but he took in stride. He didn't even bother wondering how Itachi had bypassed his defences. This was the Uchiha genius, there wasn't a whole lot that Itachi couldn't do.

"What do you want Itachi?"

Itachi stood in a corner, face hidden by shadow but his Sharingan blazed in the darkness.

"I'm here to make sure that even with the Third Hokage's death that you uphold your end of the deal and stay away from Sasuke."

"A deal that you saw fit to alter when you reported to Hiruzen before taking action. Why should I honour a deal that you clearly hold in little regard?"

"We both know that I have enough power to kill you and the other advisors should you change your mind. I'll also do as promised and reveal evidence that you conspired with Hanzo the Salamander. I wonder how long you will live once Jiraiya learns about that."

"Don't test me, you will lose."

With the message delivered, Itachi's shadow clone dispersed itself.

Danzo rubbed his chin. Things were accelerating faster than he liked. That Itachi knew about Hanzo was disturbing. That was one secret he had worked hard to keep. While Danzo had entertained the thought he knew that assassinating Jiraiya wasn't a real option. How could he pull his strings to tilt the situation to his advantage? The answer didn't immediately come to mind but he wasn't worried; Danzo had played this game for longer than Itachi had been alive and was confident in his ability to out manoeuvre his opponent.

xXx

Shoma Nakamura was a man of simple tastes. He liked his steaks rare, his whisky neat, his women blond with large chests and his vengeance slow and painful. One thing he wasn't was patient. Why should he be? A man of his standing and birth rightfully had his whims fulfilled with as much haste as possible. The Earth Daimyo wasn't accustomed to waiting which was why there was a definite increase in fatalities among his 'guests'.

People generally underestimated Shoma by his appearance. He was short with a small pot belly. His brown hair was receding and Shoma tried to keep a smile on his face for the public. This image made most people think of Shoma was a weak man easily pushed around but to the ones who managed to earn either his ire or interest, they quickly discovered that appearances were deceiving. The façade fell away as his true face of joy emerged when he personally tortured them.

His lack of patience was probably why Pakura looked so nervous as she entered his office. Shoma never lied; it was pathetic and something for the masses. A man of his status had no need to lie; not even to himself. He knew that Pakura was thankful for her recent injuries; killing the Akatsuki member Juzo Biwa had cost Pakura her beautiful face and flawless body. Something the women was happy about. Shoma didn't care, he had already sampled her goods. Now that she looked like her face had been carved only meant that he would be the last man to be inside her; as it should be.

Pakura came to stand in front of Shoma's desk at attention. She waited to be addressed, it was one of the rules. Unless addressed by the Daimyo, you shouldn't speak in his presence unless it was an emergency.

Shoma drummed his fingers on his desk before saying, "Pakura, I'm tired of waiting for Akari to arrive with the Namikaze brat. You are to go find her and encourage her to make haste. If she takes too long, I'll be glad to show her the limits of my mercy. Go."

Pakura nodded before leaving with as much haste that politeness allowed. They both knew that Pakura would join Akari if she took too long.

xXx

Kurenai Yuhi sighed as she ran a thumb across the condensation outside her glass. There was a lot on her mind and little she could do about it. Her budding relationship with Asuma had slowed right down since the death of his father. Asuma had rightfully given most of his attention to his grieving nephew but that didn't make it any easier. Kurenai had lost her best friend Anko and didn't really have anyone else to help ease her own pain; This wasn't even mentioning her troubles with her team.

Kiba had become an angry young man. He was so driven to avenge his mother and Akamaru, not to mention get stronger that he was starting to cut himself off from his friends. He no longer spent time with his team or classmates, and he ignored Kurenai's request to give his body time to rest and heal. It didn't seem to matter that healing from the strain of constant training would be more beneficial for him in the long run, Kiba had set his sights on vengeance and nothing would stop him.  _'I hope Naruto gets back soon. Kiba will hopefully pay attention to what he says.'_

Shino had proven his mettle at the Invasion by defeating Kankuro but had withdrawn into himself after nearly dying to poison. Now her student spent most of his time training with his clan. He didn't miss a training session but now Shino didn't make as much effort to hang out with his team outside of it.

Hinata had always been soft spoken but now she barely said a word. Kurenai supposed that it was guilt. Misplaced guilt to be sure but it left its mark all the same. The fact that it took several days before anyone noticed the disappearance of Neji Hyuga was a colossal failure; not just of the clan but the village as well. Hinata had taken her cousin's abduction hard, even though Neji had never been overly fond of Hinata. Couple that with Naruto's kidnapping and Hinata was a mess. Kurenai knew that Hinata's biggest problem was her self-confidence but wasn't sure how to help Hinata gain more.

' _My team is falling apart. I could use some advice right about now. This is my first time teaching and my students get their world turned upside down. I don't know what to do.'_

Kurenai's train of thought was broken when a hand clapped on her shoulder. Turning her head she saw Asuma. Her smile dimmed slightly when she noticed that his attention was behind him. There were two empty seats at the onigiri stall that had just been occupied.

Realisation sparked in her mind and grimly Kurenai nodded. They would deal with these mysterious travellers.

xXx

Tsunade Senju had definitely had better days. Sitting alone at a bar in some random inn, her head was a mess and no matter how much she drank nothing became clear. Just this morning her old team mate Orochimaru had turned up and asked her to heal his arms. Though she initially refused, she had to admit that his offer to revive Nawaki and Dan was extremely tempting. Hearing about her sensei's death and Orochimaru's eventual goal was surprising but not enough for her to out right refuse. They had given her a week to think about it. Tsunade felt the buzz from her alcohol clouding her judgement and numbing her emotions. To see her loved ones again, was it worth it?

' _I know I left the village but can I really heal Orochimaru and let him destroy it? My head says no but I'd finally get the chance to say goodbye to Nawaki. I'd get to apologise to Dan for not being able to save him. What should I do?!'_

At least she was able to drink in silence. Shizune had gotten very annoyed at her for not immediately attacking Orochimaru and as a result Shizune had found a different inn to stay in.

' _She'll be back. She has to, Shizune is all I have left of Dan. Surely she would like to talk to him as well right?'_

Tsunade knew that on some level she took Shizune for granted. The one bright spot of her life had stuck by her despite everything Tsunade had said and done.

' _I really need to treat her better. She's the only person I have left. I wish Dan was here, I could really use some advice right now.'_

xXx

Kakashi ran a tired hand through his hair and lamented his lack of preparedness once again. When he had caught Sasuke and Sakura trying to sneak out of the village they had only a few days' worth of food and water and Kakashi hadn't taken anything with him at all. Kakashi hadn't really thought about the practical side of things, he was just eager to start the search for Naruto. Now it had come back to bite him as the team was forced to make a stop in a nearby town for more supplies. This wouldn't have been a problem but Kakashi's gut was telling him that something bad was coming.

The feeling didn't leave him until his team entered an inn looking to book a room. The bar was located off to one side and Kakashi saw someone he hadn't seen in years. Tsunade Senju didn't look like she had aged a day although it was obvious that she was drunk.

Walking up Kakashi said, "It's been a while Lady Tsunade; How are things?"

He kept his voice casual but didn't quite relax. Tsunade's temper was famous and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her legendary punches.

Tsunade gave an unladylike grunt before sparing Kakashi a glance. "Oh it's the Copy Ninja. If you're here on behalf of the village you can just walk away. I'm not going back."

Kakashi shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "It's nothing like that. I'm not on a mission, just escorting my Genin team back to the village. Just thought I'd say hello that's all."

Tsunade took a swig before she replied. "Okay, if that's all than we don't have a problem. Have some sake."

Kakashi took the seat before motioning to his team to come forward. "My Lady, I'd like to introduce you to my team. Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. Team, this is the famous Tsunade Senju of the Legendary Three."

Tsunade gave team Seven a once over.

The girl was clearly a fan of hers if the way her eyes had lit up were any indication. She certainly looked like she worked hard judging by her physique, but she wasn't just a fighter. Tsunade's eyes spotted a field first aid kit on her belt. It was good to see another girl unwilling to let her male teammates leave her in the dust.

The Uchiha thought he hid his emotions well and though his face gave nothing away, his body language did. It seemed like he was angry about something. Not surprising considering what she had heard about the clan's fate. His pupils were slightly dilated though, and his nostrils redder than normal. It wasn't natural but also wasn't any of her business.

The Uzumaki was harder to read. His face was closed and body still. He was the picture of someone keeping a tight rein over their reactions and though it gave nothing away it also told her that he was desperate to hide something. She wasn't sure what and didn't care even if the kid was a distant relation of hers; Tsunade had cut her ties to the village, after all.

All in all, the team didn't look like anything remarkable. Potential was there to be sure but for now they were just kids. Kids who thought themselves indestructible but Tsunade was all too aware how easily kids could die, just like her brother. Tsunade cut of that line of thought with a hasty gulp of liquor. The resulting burn took her mind off of the past.

She returned her attention to Kakashi. "So was there any particular reason for you to disturb my peaceful night?"

"Just thought you should know that the village was attacked. A lot of people died including the Third Hokage. Jiraiya looks like he'll be the Fifth but I'm sure it's not his wish."

The loss of a man who had stepped up as her father figure after she had lost her uncle, grandfather and father stung far more than she would ever admit. Not even the booze could cover that pain; not since it was so fresh.

The news that Jiraiya was going to be the Fifth made her snort. That silly man sitting in an office all day? He'd go mad before the week was out!

"I heard about sensei. Gossip tends to spread faster than wind. I'm partly drinking in his memory. But that old pervert as Hokage? That's the funniest thing you've ever said Kakashi. The village will go around the bend if he's in charge."

Kakashi clearly didn't appreciate Jiraiya being bad mouthed but let it go. "Actually, he's really stepped up. He's actually doing a good job and I'm optimistic."

That gave Tsunade pause. Kakashi Hatake being optimistic? What had happened to the surly teenager that took every high ranking mission he could get his hands on in a vain attempt at dutiful suicide?

"Well that's all well and good. I never thought I'd say it but I'll miss that pervert."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow but Sasuke beat him to it.

"What do you mean?"

"Hokage's die. The position is cursed and anyone who wants to be one is a fool. Every single Hokage bar sensei died prematurely. Sensei seemed to escape that fate when he retired but the foolish death of his successor forced him to become Hokage again."

The atmosphere of the group changed. It got tense and Kakashi noticed Naruto getting angry. Kakashi lifted his hand, intending to gesture to Naruto to stay silent but that was ignored.

"Take that back. The Fourth wasn't a fool. He was a hero who saved his village."

Tsunade swivelled her stool so that her attention was focused on Naruto. "No I won't. I won't deny that he did his job but he still died at the age of what, twenty six? No, twenty four. Kakashi is older than that. Minato had his whole life ahead of him but he still died.

"I can tell by your body language that you are restraining yourself. Let's make this simple and take this outside."

Naruto didn't answer verbally. Instead he merely snorted before making his way to the street. Kakashi didn't particularly want to see his student pummelled but was quite aware off his limitations. If Tsunade wanted this, he couldn't stop her.

xXx

Naruto knew that he was acting like a child, but he couldn't help it. He was normally able to rein in his emotions but ever since Eri's death he had been so angry. All of team Seven had noticed but hadn't said a word. The fact that they didn't ask also made Naruto angry but on the other hand it made him angry that they seemed to think that was what he wanted.

' _What is happening to me? Why am I losing so much control of myself?'_

" **You are finally acting your age Naruto. Being irrationally angry over things you can't control is the most human thing you have done since meeting up with your team. Locking away your feelings was never healthy. I never mentioned it in the Pit because it was the only way that you could manage to continue fighting but it cost you a large part of your humanity.**

" **No twelve year old should be able to kill as easily as you. That you can cut down people without a second's thought is in part due to the fact that you locked away your emotions and turned a blind eye to the brutality of it.**

" **Mikoto and Eri brought your emotions out to the open. For the first time you let someone in, you let yourself care, and then you were forced to let Eri go in the most horrible manner. This pain and anger is good, it means that you are still human Naruto. Please, talk to someone other than me; You can't let Eri's death cut you off from other people."**

Naruto couldn't refute any of Kurama's words but that didn't mean the anger left.  _'I hate it when he's right.'_

A burst of amusement came from his furry friend.  **"And I hate it when I have to be. Now focus kid, Tsunade is waiting."**

The lady was indeed facing him on the road. When she saw that she finally had Naruto's attention she raised her right arm and declared that she wouldn't need anything else to beat him.

If the statement annoyed Naruto he didn't show it. Instead Naruto used a Flicker to appear behind Tsunade aiming a Gentle Strike at her left lung. Tsunade simply pivoted on the spot and grabbed Naruto's wrist despite the fact that he had seen it coming with his Sharingan.

' _I really need to work on my speed. If the only way for me to keep up with Jonin level fighters is that partial transformation than I'll never have enough strength to kill the Earth Daimyo.'_

Turning her back to Naruto, Tsunade swung Naruto by his arm above her head and into the ground. She then jumped backwards and waited. Getting to his feet, Naruto threw several shuriken at her head, reading her dodge and sending more to counter her movements.

Tsunade quickly realised that her movements had been read and ducked instead of tilting her head to the side. It was in that moment of indecision followed by action that Naruto sprung.

With another Flicker he aimed his left arm which held a Rasengan aimed at Tsunade's stomach. Seeing that she would try and deflect it, Naruto timed his counter. Another Rasengan formed in his right hand just as Tsunade used her right arm to flick his left arm down.

Seeing the danger, Tsunade decided to stop holding back. Using her actual fighting speed she brought her right arm up and flicked Naruto right on his forehead. She idly wondered why it wasn't protected by a headband but couldn't muster up enough interest to actually ask.

After flying back for several meters, Naruto collapsed on the ground. His head was throbbing, how did she manage to pack so much power into a simple flick?

Tsunade scoffed. "Did you teach him the Rasengan Kakashi or was it Jiraiya?"

"It certainly wasn't me. Although now that I think of it, why didn't I teach Naruto it?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

"Because it's a reckless technique. Teaching something that dangerous to a kid? What was Jiraiya thinking?"

Naruto got to his feet; He wasn't beaten but was also wise enough to realise that Tsunade had been holding back. Though he was forced to accept defeat Naruto wasn't going to let her question Jiraiya's teaching method.

"He decided that I should have a powerful attack. That it also happened to be one invented by my father was just icing on top."

Tsunade smirked. "Did he also tell you that Minato considered the Rasengan incomplete?"

Naruto's silence was all the answer she needed. She continued, "Jiraiya told me that the famed genius never managed to apply his nature transformation to the Rasengan. You know what? I'll make you a wager; if you can add an element to the Rasengan in a week, I'll owe you a favour. When you fail, you admit I had a point and I also get to keep Kakashi's money."

Determination shown in Naruto's eyes. "Fine and when I win, I want you to return to the village and heal our friend Rock Lee. He needs a Med-nin of your skill; no one else will be able to help him."

"Deal."

Naruto immediately Flickered out of the small town. He needed an open space to train.

' _Did I take the deal because I'm a good friend to Lee or because I selfishly wanted to use this time to improve my own skills?'_

xXx

Neji sat against the wall of his cell in silence. He had no idea how much time had passed since he had been taken; all he knew was that the suffering he suffered at the hands of the Hyuga clan paled in comparison to what he was going through now. Any hope of escape had died when he had been force fed medicine that retarded his chakra system. He had no way to use Gentle Fist or jutsu. So, for the first time in his life he was just an average, powerless boy.

His cell mates had laughed themselves silly when he had explained who he was and why his capture was nothing more than his lot in life. Their cruel logic still burned in his memory.

" _You think that just because you have some seal on ya head that your life is somehow horrible? Get real kid! You live in a powerful village, you have family. You got three meals a day and never had to worry about when your next meal was. You're nothing more than an entitled brat who has no idea how bad the world really is. So, your dad died? People's dads die every day and you don't see them prancing about, talking about how they are destined to be nothing more than a slave; Get over yourself."_

In the time following this tirade, Neji found that no matter how he spun it, he couldn't refute their words. His world had been completely focused on himself. The only good thing about being a prisoner was that it allowed Neji plenty of time to think and reflect on his actions.

' _I swear if I somehow get back to the village I will turn over a new leaf. I owe an apology to a lot of people, Hinata especially. She only ever wanted to be my friend and I treated her horribly.'_

This new found resolve found a smile forming on Neji's face. A weight he hadn't even noticed lifted off his shoulders. The sound of the door opening caught his attention. Two men grabbed him while a woman led the way down a corridor. She didn't look around when she addressed Neji,

"You should feel honoured. You will lead our village to greatness by providing us with our own loyal Hyuga clan."

Confusion crossed Neji's face, "What do you mean? I will not betray my village!"

"Our leader believes that your little seal doesn't effect your sperm and you will be our own little baby maker."

Horror gripped Neji and he began fighting the men holding him. "No, I refuse! Leave me alone!"

The woman paused and looked over her shoulder. A perverse look appeared on her face as she said, "Your consent isn't a factor."

xXx

A small explosion rocked the clearing Naruto had been using for training. That had been something like his two hundredth attempt at adding Wind to the Rasengan, but it wasn't working. Different variances in chakra level or flow didn't seem to make any kind of difference. The fact was that the Rasengan was shape manipulation taken to its highest level and maintaining that shape while trying to add an element into an already perfect shape resulted in abject failure.

' _My idea to have my Wind flow in the same directions of the Rasengan didn't work. Kurama, any ideas?'_

" **It seems that your biggest problem is adding the element. I wonder, if I changed my chakra to Fire and you used that chakra to form a Rasengan, would that work?"**

It was worth a try so Naruto quickly agreed. Naruto felt the fiery chakra flow through his arm and used it exclusively to form a Rasengan. He didn't do anything differently, just used Kurama's chakra to form an ordinary Rasengan.

The result left Naruto speechless. Instead of a bright blue ball the Rasengan had changed colour to many different shades of red. It almost looked like he was holding a ball of pure fire in his hand. It was without a doubt; Fire Release: Rasengan.

Instead of querying Kurama about why this worked over the other attempts, Naruto excitedly ran over to a tree and slammed the Fire Rasengan into it. The tree trunk exploded with force and the rest of the tree seemed to wither away. The now blackened trunk bore a hole the size of a basketball and instead of the swirling grind marks that a normal Rasengan left behind, trails of ash flew.

The base Rasengan grinded against its target, forcing whatever hit to either grind into itself or away from the user. Fire Release: Rasengan or just Fire Rasengan, seemed to incinerate the area it immediately struck while also heating the other parts of the target to ridiculous degrees.

' _Wow, adding an extra step increased the Rasengan's power by that much!? Kurama, am I right to say that that attempt worked because I didn't have to try doing to things at once?_

' _You provided the chakra change and I just made a Rasengan. That would be why I can't add Wind; I can't keep track of the swirling directions of the Rasengan while adding Wind. Any suggestions for me?'_

" **Well you figured out the problem but unfortunately I don't have a solution. It sounds like you have to look both left and right at the same time."**

Their conversation was cut short by Kakashi. Team Seven's sensei had been lounging in a different tree keeping an eye on Naruto's progress. In a clearing not far away, Sasuke and Sakura were also hard at work. Sakura was doing a ridiculous amount of push ups and sit-ups while reviewing all the medical knowledge she had learned while Sasuke was trying to cut down the time he took to use a Chidori while increasing his chakra reserves.

Once he had seen a successful attempt, Kakashi knew he had to ask. The puzzle of adding an element to the Rasengan had managed to elude both Minato and him and Kakashi was dying to know.

"Yo, Naruto, I see that one worked. Can you tell me why?"

Naruto looked at his teacher and explained why it worked and his problem with using Wind instead of Fire.

Kakashi smiled. It was so simple! That didn't mean that he could now bust out Lightning Rasengans though, Naruto's problem applied to everyone.

"Well, why don't you go show Lady Tsunade? Just don't tell her about Kurama's help and you've won the bet, right?"

Naruto looked at the ground. That was perfectly true and if he did than it would guarantee that Lee would get the best possible care in the world. One the other hand, Naruto felt like it was cheating. The bet had been for  _him_ to add an element not his friend.

"If I can't at the end of the week I'll do that sensei, but I still want to continue. I don't feel like I've accomplished anything, I've just used Kurama's chakra instead of my own."

Kakashi nodded as if he had been expecting that answer. "Well, I know a way to accelerate your training in the time left. Shadow Clones are unique in the fact that any memories they learn upon their end will flow back into the original. They are also physical and can attack enemies unlike the normal Clone technique.

"This is a way for a rapid increase in skill, but it comes at great cost. A user's chakra is divided evenly between themselves and the clones; one clone will half your chakra, two clones will be each have a third of your chakra and so on. This makes it very dangerous, but you are in a unique position to abuse the hell out of Shadow Clones. With both yours and Kurama's chakra levels, you could use the clones to train at a rate unheard of." Kakashi slid him a sly smile.

"So, want me to show you how?"

xXx

Itachi blinked. He suppressed a sigh as he looked at the exhausted forms of Asuma and Kurenai. They had been the first ones to find them but now it looked like Konoha would lose two of its Jonin just so that he could maintain his cover.

' _I really don't want to see them die but my mission comes first even if the Third is dead.'_

Kisame rolled his neck. "Man, you guys are so weak. Times up."

The swordsman lunged forward swinging Samehada in a downward arc. A mass of white, spiky hair wrapped around Asuma and Kurenai. The hair was strong enough repel Samehada and when the hair retracted the legendary Jiraiya was revealed.

Kisame quickly made his way back to Itachi's side. "Oi Itachi, what's the plan?"

Itachi let the silence build as he thought.  _'Why is Jiraiya here? I already delivered my latest report with a transformed shadow clone. He has all the latest intelligence. What is he trying to gain by appearing before us?_

' _Perhaps he wants to increase his standing among the people by driving off two S class ninja? I can't think of a logical reason for Jiraiya himself to turn up instead of ANBU.'_

Out loud Itachi said, "We do something big and distracting before running away. We might be able to take him down together but not fast enough to avoid bringing every other ninja in the village. Neither of us are capable of dealing with numbers that large."

Kisame nodded before preparing some hand seals for the Water Release: Water Vortex. A wave that size would do a lot of damage to the village and should distract everyone long enough to retreat.

Before Kisame finished however, Jiraiya spoke. "Before you do something big and flashy let's talk. I'd like to know how you got past our defences and quite frankly I'm  _astonished_ that you dealt with Asuma and Kurenai so easily."

Itachi blinked.  _'Astonished? Why would he use my old ANBU activation code? Is he trying to say that I should turn on Kisame? Is my mission no longer that important?'_

His face blank, Itachi tilted his head slightly to the side in question. Jiraiya didn't nod or do anything overt, he merely smirked.  _'That's the only clue he's going to give me? I understand he doesn't want to alert Kisame to anything suspicious but a smirk? I hope I'm right about this.'_

Itachi concentrated on the details of his newest genjutsu. Everything needed to be in place so that Kisame wouldn't catch on. Itachi looked at Kisame and raised his finger to his lips. Sliding to a spot under his right ear, Itachi cast his genjutsu as Kisame focused on Itachi's attempt at sign language and his finger.

Kisame's eyes went blank, arms falling to his sides. Itachi turned to face the de facto leader of his village. "This better be good Jiraiya. That genjutsu won't hold him long."

Jiraiya smirked again. "I've come to a decision. Your mission is over. This latest attack shows me that our village is vulnerable to S ranks like Orochimaru or Akatsuki. Your report said Akatsuki work in pairs and I'm not confident I could take two S ranks simultaneously. The only others who stand a chance would be Kakashi and Might Guy with at least six gates open.

"I need to shore up our defences with strong ninja and currently, you are the strongest loyal ninja I have. I will reveal the truth of your mission and retract your status as a traitor. The village needs your strength Itachi, and I can guarantee that your mother would be happy to see you."

Stunned silence filled the area. Asuma and Kurenai clearly had no idea what was happening but had reacted with shock when Jiraiya said he would dissolve Itachi's crime of treason. For his part, Itachi didn't know what to do; He had immersed himself in the shadows for so long he wasn't sure if he could just stop and re-join the public.

"There will be backlash Jiraiya, I am hated by the village and this decision will not gain you any friends."

"I don't care about friends, I care about my home. You are one of the most dangerous people I've ever met and right now you would serve the village better here than reporting on an organisation that we already know exists; particularly when we will soon be marching on the Grass village in a show of strength. The village needs to be taken seriously by the other countries and showing that we managed to fool everyone while possessing someone of your calibre sends a good message.

"I'll take the increase in our strength over your spying any day. There is no point of having an inside man if the village gets destroyed.

"Now, how long do you think that genjutsu will hold? I'd like Inoichi to take a crack at your buddy there."

Itachi turned to look at his former partner in crime. "I managed to cram enough detail in the illusion for it to keep him trapped for at least another ten minutes. After that, the details will start to distort and Kisame will be sure to catch on."

Jiraiya wasted no time. He turned to Asuma, "Get Inoichi here now! This is an emergency and he is the only person capable of handling this job! Go!"

Asuma swallowed his confusion. He couldn't ignore a direct order like that, so he flickered away. Kurenai turned a curious gaze at Itachi.

"Did I hear that right? From when Jiraiya first spoke up to the point where you moved a finger on your face, you managed to make a genjutsu detailed enough to fool an S rank for over ten minutes? How did you manage such a feat? The details are the most important part of a genjutsu and you had what, eight seconds to piece it together?"

Itachi had practised his poker face for a long time and habit didn't let anything slip. "This was easier since I merely took our actual plan for escape and tweaked it so that Kisame used his Water Vortex. I know the village and surrounding lands very well; the details are burned in my memory. Once our illusionary selves pass the four-kilometre mark, the details won't be as intricate. It wasn't as hard as you seem to think."

Jiraiya couldn't help himself; he chuckled at the modesty in Itachi's reply. He turned to face Kurenai, "He's down playing it of course. Itachi had to make an illusionary world and simulate any conversation he might've had with Kisame. This means that the detail Itachi used is far higher than what you initially thought."

Kurenai was stunned. A genjutsu like that wasn't possible. She might've been able to make a genjutsu detailed enough to fool someone into thinking that they were standing in the village but to account for someone else's words or travel path? That indicated a multi-layered genjutsu, one that hinged on choice and when one option was chosen, the others on that layer where destroyed. The fact that the illusion managed to span ten minutes fully accounting for variances in conversation and direction was mind boggling. The sheer number of layers and alternate paths needed to maintain a genjutsu of that complexity was crazy. That was the only way to describe it.

For the first time since the academy Kurenai was truly humbled. Her specialty was genjutsu but something on the level she had just witnessed was well beyond her. Just as she was about to ramp up her questioning Asuma returned with a serious but confused Inoichi.

Jiraiya looked at the Yamanaka clan head and said, "Good, I want you to look inside the mind of the blue fish guy over there. He's currently stuck in a genjutsu which means his mind shouldn't register a foreign mind if it's not looking for it. Be subtle but fast, I need to know everything in his head. Ignore Itachi for now, he won't attack you. You have roughly eight minutes before the genjutsu ends, hurry!"

Inoichi clearly wanted to ask questions but his training kicked in and he followed orders. He placed a hand on Kisame's forehead and dived into the man's memories.

Itachi was left to his thoughts as he waited for Inoichi to finish.

' _I never expected something like this to happen. Looks like my warning to Danzo wasn't needed but I fear how badly Sasuke will react when he sees me. Was he ever informed of the truth? How will the Uchiha treat me once the truth comes out?'_

xXx

At the bottom of a crater in the middle of Fire country an orange ring with the kanji for three could be seen. At that second a single drop of blood fell from the ring and onto the ground.

A second passed. Then another.

The splatter of blood seemed to quiver. It slowly gained mass; growing larger with each passing moment. The blood slowly formed itself into an eyeball. It quickly took on a pained look as more blood and body regenerated.

The sound of muscles and bones meshing together was rather off putting but was nothing compared to the pain the body felt as its nerves were rebuilt and reconnected.

Several minutes later a weary and rather naked Hidan lay on his back gasping for air. If anything, his smile was even more insane than before. Instead of doing the sensible thing like questioning what had happened or even standing up Hidan drew in as much air as possible before screaming out with as much volume as possible,

"Oh, mighty Jashin! Your power is truly unrivalled! You brought me back from oblivion so that I can spread your truth to the world! I am not worthy to be your chosen one, but I will do my best, I swear on my soul! You desire blood and death to grace the land no? I shall lay waste to the masses; the whims of Akatsuki no longer matter to me. If it takes me a hundred lifetimes, I will wipe-out all life on the planet!"

Tears formed in Hidan's eyes at the sheer depths of Jashin's power and mercy. He was truly thankful that Jashin had answered his prayers.

Getting to his feet, Hidan kicked away his Akatsuki ring. It was useless to him now. For some strange reason, Hidan felt a pull in an easterly direction. Never one to dismiss any sign that could be from Jashin, Hidan started in that direction. He had people to kill.

xXx

The week had passed but Kakashi wasn't worried. Naruto had indeed abused the crap out of the Shadow Clone technique and in time realised the solution to his problem. Since his new clones would think and manipulate chakra, Naruto simply had a clone add the Wind element for him much like Kurama added his own Fire.

Wind Release: Rasengan was just as deadly as it's Fire counterpart but Naruto hadn't stopped there.

By using both of his hands in front of his chest with a shadow clone to the side, Naruto had fused both elements together to make the Scorch Release: Rasengan. That Rasengan took far longer to prepare but also completely and utterly destroyed whatever it hit. It was a technique clearly S ranked.

Eager to show Tsunade and to get back for Lee's sake, Team Seven had risen early in the morning but couldn't find Tsunade in the village they had been staying in. Tsunade's friend Shizune was worried; apparently today was the day she had to give her answer. That was all she would say on the subject, but her anxiousness found its way into Team Seven and they searched with more vigour.

Pakkun quickly lead them to a meadow. Kakashi cursed under his breath as he saw Tsunade fighting Kabuto with Orochimaru watching from the sidelines.

"Stay on your guard team but leave this to us. You don't stand a chance against Orochimaru."

They quickly made their way to Tsunade's side. The Lady herself had fallen to her knees in terror at the blood covering her face and hands. Shizune quickly told them about Tsunade's crippling fear of blood and the reasons for it.

Kakashi squared his shoulders.  _'I have no idea if this is going to work but I have to try. I hope Shizune will be able to handle Kabuto._

' _Never thought I'd have to use it this soon though. I don't have enough practice with my Mangekyo yet.'_

Kakashi evened out his headband and revealed his Sharingan, "Shizune, can you deal with Kabuto? Be careful, he's at least Jonin level. I'll take on Orochimaru, I doubt the man would stand by and let us take down his right-hand man."

Orochimaru smirked at Kakashi, "You? Take me on? How will you be able to handle me, if you are worried about your team?"

Four Body Flickers later and four people now stood in front of Orochimaru. "Meet the Sound Four, my personal guard. They will attack your precious Genin and you will be powerless to stop them!"

Not giving Kakashi a chance to attack the Sound Four, Orochimaru spat out his Kusanagi sword and attacked Kakashi with his extending neck.

Team Seven got into their stances while Shizune prepared herself. Tension filled the air before all hell broke loose.

xXx

Sasuke dodged another flurry of webs and kunai. This Kidomaru was clearly more comfortable fighting at range and was doing his best to keep Sasuke at a distance. This would normally play into Sasuke's hands considering how hard he had trained his speed but Kidomaru had webbed up the ground around himself. That meant close combat wasn't available and unfortunately Kidomaru wasn't hampered by the webs at all. This meant he was free to dodge all the kunai Sasuke threw.

Not even the Sharingan helped; predicting Kidomaru's movements, Sasuke had thrown a lightning coated kunai at the space Kidomaru would next occupy. A strange gold coloured liquid secreted from his pores and formed crude armour all over Kidomaru's body. The lightning kunai had managed to wedge itself slightly in the armour but dealt no damage.

"You'll have to try harder than that Uchiha. My Sticky Gold armour is as hard as steel and has chakra blocking properties. Not even the famous Gentle Fist would stand a chance against it!"

Not staying still Sasuke thought about his options.

_'The only attack I have that has a chance at getting through that armour is Chidori but with the webbed ground I can't get close. I could try the Tree Walking technique but if it fails than I'll be at his mercy._

_'Chidori only works because it focuses and condenses my Lightning down into a single indestructible point. Unrefined Lightning clearly won't cut it; I have to find a way for my Chidori to attack at a distance.'_

Sasuke's first idea was to somehow turn the Chidori into a ball that he could throw but he quickly discarded it. That would take too much time and effort. It would be much simpler to extend the Chidori making the attack longer without losing its edge. This was easier said than done; Sasuke had only just begun to dabble with Shape Manipulation by learning the Chidori and now he had to make a new variant on the fly.

Sasuke's first few attempts failed either due to him losing concentration dodging Kidomaru's attacks or failing to keep the correct shape in mind. Frustration began boiling inside of Sasuke, was this his limit? Could he not fighting strong opponents without using Amp? He wished he could cut his way through his dependence on that accursed powder.

Wait, that was it! Sasuke made the hand signs needed for Chidori before drawing his sword and using its shape as a base. This time it worked, his Chidori extended to envelope his sword without losing any power. This was far superior to the times when Sasuke had merely channelled Lightning into his sword strikes.

_'Now I just have to extend the range.'_

For his part, Kidomaru hadn't been mindlessly throwing attacks at Sasuke. He had been analysing what Sasuke was attempting and once the Lightning sword had appeared he could assume that this was the Uchiha's new trump card. Not taking a chance, Kidomaru went to the second stage of his curse mark and webbed up a further few meters of ground around him. Now he had a five meter buffer of safety. Kidomaru then formed a bow and using his six arms, sent an arrow flying towards Sasuke at great speed.

Even with his Sharingan on, Sasuke wasn't able to dodge in time. The arrow slammed into his left thigh, drilling deep into his leg before the tip poked out the back of his damaged limb. His fell on the ground as he tried to fight off going into shock.

_'Dammit! I really need to fully mature my Sharingan; two tomoe just won't cut it!'_

Sasuke fell onto his right knee, left hand on his leg in reflex. Looking down, Sasuke saw that his leg had suffered a large amount of damage. He really needed to get to Sakura, his femoral artery looked like it had been hit.

Raising his gaze Sasuke saw Kidomaru prepare another arrow.

_'I can't die now. I need to speak to Itachi again. I have to see mum and bury my sister! I cannot die here!'_

The world seemed to slow down as Sasuke finally unlocked the third tomoe of his Sharingan. The arrow flying at him was now easily read and dodged before Sasuke raised his empty right hand.

"Chidori Sharp Spear!"

A five metre long Chidori shot of Sasuke's hand taking Kidomaru completely by surprise. Kidomaru had assumed that the sword was integral to the technique and that assumption had cost him his life.

Not even seeing his foe fall to the ground, Sasuke put as much pressure on his wound that he could. Even through the pain, Sasuke felt a small sense of pride. He had won a fight without using Amp. Revenge had been such a large part of his life but now that he fought for something else Sasuke had discovered that he was stronger without shortcuts.

Gathering some energy, Sasuke called out, "Sakura, I need help. I'm going to bleed to death!"

xXx

Sakura didn't hear Sasuke's call for aid, she couldn't.

At the start of her fight she had quite quickly deduced that Tayuya's genjutsu worked with sound and Sakura had punctured her ear drums as a result.

Sure she might've had the best chakra control of her team but that didn't make fights against genjutsu specialists any easier. Sakura had grown tired of constantly cycling her chakra to dispel the illusions and eliminated their effectiveness entirely. She could always heal her hearing later.

With that particular problem dealt with, Sakura just had to handle the three ogres that Tayuya had summoned.

_Her creatures aren't giving me time to stand still and focus enough to open my inner gates. I should've opened my First gate instead of puncturing my ears, c'mon think Sakura! She keeps one of her creatures close by to prevent me from blitzing her with my speed. She must have some idea of my fighting style._

_'I need a way to attack unseen or hide so that I can open some gates. Oh wait, that should work.'_

Sakura set off a smoke bomb before activating her Underground Decapitation technique. It had been a while since she'd used a jutsu in a fight, instead focusing on Guy's teachings but this was perfect. Once she had moved far enough underground, Sakura reached up through the earth and used her medical jutsu to sever both of Tayuya's Achilles Tendons.

Tayuya cried out in pain before collapsing on the ground. The injury distracted Tayuya enough that she stopped using her flute and her ogres stopped their movements; powerless without a command.

Tayuya fought through the pain, she had to activate her curse mark second stage. The transformation would provide her a boost to stamina and temporarily heal her injuries, the wounds resurfacing once she left her cursed state.

Horns began to form on Tayuya's head and her skin began to darken before Sakura burst forth from the ground and stabbed Tayuya in the back with a kunai. Sakura's aim was true and death was near instant was Tayuya's heart was pieced.

As her opponent's body fell to the ground Sakura turned. She wanted to see if she could help anyone else. She raised her hands to heal her ears before she froze; Sasuke had collapsed and a large pool of blood was grower ever larger underneath him.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura flew to her team mate; praying that she had enough time and skill to heal him.

xXx

Kakashi wasn't sure which Orochimaru he wanted to fight. The arrogant one with both arms that fought for fun or this wounded one that was actually taking fights seriously. Sure he couldn't use hand signs but a focused Orochimaru was just as deadly; he wasn't known as the most lethal of the Legendary Three for no reason. Even his recent spurt of training wasn't quite enough to defeat Orochimaru, just stall him while losing chakra.

_'A lot of his jutsu are unavailable but he is definitely the strongest person I've ever faced. His body is so strange and the Grass Cutter is more dangerous than some of the Seven Swordsmen's._

_'I could try Mangekyo but if I miss I'll be completely drained and at his mercy. I need to think of a way to lock him down so that I can hit him with Kamui.'_

The problem was that Kakashi knew that a fair chunk of his tactics were commonly known in the village and it was highly likely Orochimaru knew most of his usual strategies. That meant probing with Substitution and a Shadow Clone would just waste chakra. He also needed to buy time, he couldn't just turn his Mangekyo on instantly.

Kakashi put together a rough plan, hopefully it would be enough.

He drew a few fortifying breaths before making brief eye contact with Orochimaru. This wouldn't be like at the Chunin Exams, this had to work. Kakashi quickly sent several shurikens at Orochimaru, it wasn't ever going to be effective but hopefully it would distract Orochimaru enough to hide the next step.

Sure enough, the projectiles were deflected by the Grass Cutter before several Transformed shuriken revealed themselves to be a flash bombs. Orochimaru hadn't let his guard down though, that attack was clearly setting something up and he was able to close his eyes in time.

During the chain of flashes, Kakashi summoned two of his dogs and instructed them to take his chain and wrap Orochimaru up. Right as the last flash ended Kakashi dashed forward with a Lightning Blade. Kakashi's attack was almost there before the Grass Cutter sliced through the chain like paper.

Just as Kakashi was about to be skewered he Substituted with one of his original shuriken and pieced Orochimaru from behind. Orochimaru managed a smirk before he melted into mud. Kakashi didn't even have time to curse in surprise before he felt the Grass Cutter stab through his chest.

"Nice try Kakashi but you are still not at my level."

Orochimaru frowned, something wasn't adding up but he couldn't put his finger on it. Kakashi's body suddenly lit up and the Lightning Shadow Clone exploded. Orochimaru staggered away from the smoke, burns covering a fair amount of his body.

It was obvious in hindsight. In that brief moment of eye contact Kakashi had cast a very subtle genjutsu. It ever so slightly altered Orochimaru's perspective of time by a few seconds. A Lightning Shadow Clone had a second's fuse and was enough of a window for Orochimaru to avoid the explosion; it was only that instant of unease that saved Orochimaru from death. He had braced for  _something_ and managed to protect his vital areas. It was masterfully done but the fight was far from over.

Orochimaru's mouth opened and another Orochimaru pulled himself free from his old wounds.

"Water Release: Hiding in Mist."

As Orochimaru's vision became obscured by thick mist he smirked. That was a specialty of the Hidden Mist, just where had Kakashi managed to copy that? Still fighting without his eyes was child's play for him, it looked like Kakashi was getting desperate.

"Lightning Release: Electro-magnetic Death."

That was what Orochimaru got for getting careless. It was one of his bigger flaws. Kakashi used the conductivity of the mist to channel the Lightning through the air and all around his target. There wasn't even a chance to escape underground since Earth was weak to Lightning. The only thing that worked in Orochimaru's favour was that the attack wasn't all that powerful. More concentrated electricity such as the Lightning Blade would probably evaporate the Mist before conduction but the amount of charge was still enough to paralyse Orochimaru for a few seconds.

It was this window of opportunity that Kakashi had originally targeted, rising out of the ground a few meters in front of Orochimaru, Mangekyo Sharingan flaring in the dispersing mist.

Kakashi knew that it would be better to aim for the head but his aim just wasn't good enough. Using Kamui was difficult and he only had enough chakra for one shot, he needed to maximise his chances at getting a hit.

A large portion of Orochimaru's chest was sucked into a strange vortex and the body fell to the ground as blood spilled on the ground.

Kakashi didn't even have the strength to savour his victory. He collapsed on his back with only sheer will keeping him conscience. He could rest once the fights were over and he knew his team was safe.

xXx

Naruto grit his teeth. His Byakugan told him that only Shizune and himself were still fighting. True he was fighting two members of the Sound Four but Orochimaru was leagues above them and had fallen first.

Pure fury crossed both Jirobo and Sakon's faces. "None of you will leave here alive." Their curse marks flared and both of them took on monstrous appearances.

"Your deaths are now assured. Hurry up and finish Kabuto, stop playing around."

At the same time, both Jirobo and Sakon slapped their marks with a hand, pain overwhelming their senses. They groaned in agony as a white mass slowly rose out of the marks. Both Sound Four members fell to their knees as the white streams wormed across the ground to form one mass. Slowly the mass grew until Orochimaru stood before Naruto.

Orochimaru chuckled, "Thank you for that my loyal guards. My immortality wouldn't have kicked in without your anger. I gave you power and in turn you secured my life. Now you aren't needed anymore."

His subordinates slumped over dead before Orochimaru turned his attention to Kakashi who had managed to turn his head to look at Orochimaru in horror.

"Well done Kakashi. True you had a handicap but not just anyone can truly beat me in a fight. I tip my hat to you and as a prize you get to hear your teams dying screams."

A massive surge of chakra caused everyone to pause and look at Naruto. He had turned into a beastly form of pure chakra, his flesh peeling off in scraps and floating away in the wind. In a deep voice the beast said, "No, the only one dying is you!"

xXx

Shizune had no idea what was going on. What had happened to Naruto? Was he still in control? Her lack of focus proved to be her undoing as Kabuto rose up from the ground and disabling all of the nerves in her right leg. It was highly detailed and would take a while to fix. She was certain that this was her end but Kabuto had Flickered to stand by his master.

Counting her lucky stars she began working on her leg.

"Shizune help! I can't stop the bleeding!"

Shizune's head whipped to her left. Sakura was kneeling next to Sasuke trying to heal a wound on his leg. She wobbled to her feet before hopping over to the kids. It hurt something fierce but kids needed medical aid and she would be damned before she let something like an injury stop her from delivering first aid.

Sasuke's femoral artery had been punctured and Shizune could feel the traces of Sakura's attempts at healing. Sakura had tried to use chakra to encourage the body to repair the damage to the artery's walls but the hole was too big for normal treatment.

First step was using chakra to pinch off the blood flow further up in the artery. Sakura had tied her belt around Sasuke's thigh but it wasn't enough. True it was risky to completely stop the flow but it wouldn't be for long. Thankfully she could do surgery with chakra which lowered the risk to Sasuke since she didn't have to cut open his thigh to get to the artery.

Using her chakra, Shizune shaved small amounts of arterial wall from healthy parts of the artery. She then transplanted the new material over the holes in the artery before healing over the damage. She then manually resumed then slowed Sasuke's blood flow to prevent the incoming blood from tearing through the repaired but very thin wall.

"Sakura, you have to keep an eye on the blood flow and integrity of arterial walls. Use your chakra to slow the blood and do what you were doing before. I should check on Kakashi."

xXx

Tsunade didn't know what to do. She felt so useless; just a little bit of blood was enough to render her incapable.

Her attention was caught when Sakura called out for Shizune's help. Right, a child needed help and she was a medical specialist.

_'Get up Tsunade! Someone needs your help!'_

She lurched to her feet, walking slowly towards Sasuke's prone body. A small sinister voice in the back of her head chose that moment to speak up,  _'What good are you? You weren't been able to save Nawaki, despite your best efforts Dan had still died.'_

Her walk slowed down. That's right, when she truly needed to save someone she choked. Shizune would be far better in that situation. In spite of her dark thoughts Tsunade had continued walking over to Sasuke. She fell to her knees, avoiding the blood on the grass.

Unable to look at his bloody body Tsunade asked, "How is he Sakura?"

"The walls were repaired but are fragile. He's not critical but not quite stable."

"Good."

Silence filled the air. Tsunade wasn't quite sure what to say next. Sakura solved that by saying,

"Um yesterday Shizune told us why you dislike the office of Hokage and dreams. I never would've imagined the woman I held in such high esteem to be so...jaded. I know I'm young and you probably don't care what I have to say but just because you lost people close to you doesn't automatically make all dreams pointless. Sasuke and Naruto have both suffered enormously but they still somehow find the strgth to keep going on.

"It's something I truly admire about them. They are my best friends and should never have to suffer the choices of other people again. That's why just recently I've changed my dream.

"I used to dream about becoming strong so that I never felt powerless again but now I want to become strong enough to become Hokage. I'm going to change the way the village works and abolish many things that allowed innocent children to suffer.

"You can scoff at my dream all you want but know this, it will come true. Because Naruto's dream is to become strong enough to protect his friends and family and Sasuke, well I'm not sure what his dream will be now but he won't let anything happen to our dreams either!"

Tsunade felt a strange warmth in her chest. This girl, someone who clearly admired her, wasn't afraid to speak her mind. The sheer earnestness of Sakura's speech as moving. Tsunade smiled despite herself, it was nice to see another girl unwilling to settle for being third best in her team.

Every scrap of hope and self respect left within Tsunade rose to the surface. These kids might not have gone through a war but each had suffered and she needed to at least be equal to them otherwise she wouldn't be able to look herself in the eye.

_'I..I think I will trust in these kid's dreams; one last time.'_

Tsunade's eyes burst with new found determination. She got to her feet, deliberately stepping on the blood stained grass but it no longer held sway over her psyche. She pat Sakura on the shoulder.

"Thanks Sakura. Time to go help Naruto, I can't let a Genin fight my battles can I?"

Tsunade turned and looked at Sakura over her shoulder, "Besides, if I left that pervert in charge there wouldn't be a village for you to become Hokage of, I'll have to keep the seat warm for you."

xXx

The tension in the air was growing thicker by the second. Just as Naruto was about to clash with Orochimaru, Kabuto had turned up. "Sir, I hope you don't mind my presumptuousness but I thought you would need some help."

"It's fine. With my arms like this fighting a Demon Container in version two would be... annoying."

Just as Naruto was set to attack again, somebody Flickered nearby. Naruto cocked his head in confusion, wasn't that guy killed on the same day as Akari?

The newcomer laughed fanatically. "You got lucky last time brat but even the Nine Tailed Fox pales in comparison to my almighty Jashin! I am truly immortal and will kill every single person in this world, starting with you. Jashin picked me, Hidan as his most loyal follower!"

**"Naruto, Hidan got hit point blank with a Tailed Beast Bomb. He should've been disintegrated, I have no idea how he survived."**

Naruto's new form growled but he was still in control. "After my ultimate attack you should be nothing but ash. It's so powerful Kage's fear it so how are you alive?"

"Fool! My god is all powerful. Death is his symphony and I am his conductor!"

A massive chakra arm grabbed Hidan faster than he could react and flung him into the air. Naruto immediately formed another albeit smaller, Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Let's see if you can survive another one!"

The blast was massive but everyone on the ground was safe. Naruto had flung Hidan quite high.

Orochimaru watched closely. Even he would die if he got hit with chakra that dense and he was now out of suitable curse mark holders. Had this unknown person really discovered the secret to true immortality? Kakashi managing to actually defeat him was irritating but Orochimaru knew that it had only happened because his arms had been sealed away. This had forced him to use his final trump card, the remnants of his soul locked inside the curse marks. With the Sound Four dead, he only had Kimimaro and Jugo left; if the reports on Anko's death could be believed.

As the smoke cleared he felt disappointment. A single hand fell to the ground with a splat. It had been foolish to get his hopes u-

Movement made Orochimaru pause. The hand wobbled before it  _grew._ It was disturbing to watch even by his standards but at the end Hidan lay on the ground panting in pain. That didn't stop Hidan from yelling however,

"You see! Nothing can come close to god's power! I am the scourge of humanity!"

It was an impressive statement but marred by the fact that Hidan was now naked. Orochimaru turned to Kabuto. "Change of plans, paralyse him and seal in a scroll. I need to investigate his immortality now."

As Kabuto rocketed towards Hidan Orochimaru felt satisfaction course through his veins. True Tsunade hadn't fallen for his ploy but if he could unlock Hidan's secrets than nothing could stop him. Could this Jashin remove the curse Hiruzen had left on his arms?

Kabuto was intercepted by Tsunade who had sent him flying backwards with a punch. She locked eyes with Orochimaru,

"You die today Orochimaru. It can be your gift to me for my announcement as the Fifth Hokage!"

xXx

Sasuke groaned as his mind woke up. The pain that he had been expecting had faded to a dull ache and he forced his eyes open. The first thing he saw was Sakura looking at him with concern. Before Sasuke could try anything, Sakura said,

"Take it easy Sasuke. The wound in your leg is still tender and you shouldn't move at all. You won your fight though and so did I. Shizune lost but Kabuto didn't finish her, and she managed to heal you in time. She's with Kakashi now.

"I think he actually managed to beat Orochimaru somehow but Orochimaru did something weird. Remember how Naruto told us how he had turned into some hybrid form when he killed Akari?

"Well he turned into that and now he and Tsunade are fighting Orochimaru, Kabuto and some guy called Hidan. Apparently, he has an extreme healing ability, as he regenerated from Naruto's best attack."

Sasuke blinked; a lot had happened since he had passed out. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Sakura took the hint and helped him sit up, providing back support so that he wouldn't slump back from fatigue.

Sasuke had thought that Naruto's fight with Gaara was going to be the pinnacle of combat that he would ever see Naruto perform but he was wrong.

_'Every time I think I'm making ground on Naruto's progress he leaves me in the dust. How can I bridge the gap?'_

This beast form of Naruto's had targeted Orochimaru and it was obvious that the traitor was pulling out all the tricks he had to avoid death.

Panic flared in Sasuke's chest when he saw Orochimaru manage to get passed Naruto's guard with his sword, but the panic faded when it was clear the sword was unable to piece Naruto's new form.

A savage swipe from Naruto's claws separated Orochimaru's chest from his lower body before snakes suddenly appeared from Orochimaru's separate parts and reconnected. Not anticipating such a bizarre thing to happen, Naruto failed to react in time when Orochimaru vomited out many snakes, all of which wrapped themselves around Naruto, biting down. Sasuke could only assume they were poisonous.

A grunt of pain could be heard before Naruto flexed his four tails and ripping the snakes apart. There was a brief pause as Orochimaru and Naruto looked at each other.

Orochimaru chuckled, "I must say you've surprised me Uzumaki. To be able to use the Nine Tails to this extent? Quite impressive, but it's not enough. Raw power will only get you so far; experience and technique count for far more than you seem to think. I fought through two world wars and you killed some kids in a pit. I might not be able to generate the destruction that you can, but I'll find a way to win. So long as I accomplish my goals it doesn't matter how I do so."

In his current state Naruto was unable to form expressions but he could respond.

"Shut up! You attacked the village and that gave Akari the opportunity to swoop in and take Eri. You're indirectly responsible for her death and for that I'm going to tear you apart!"

xXx

Kabuto didn't think he would ever meet anyone more annoying than Hidan. The man was fanatical in his quest to kill for his god which meant he was unable to understand that it would be easier to join forces against meant an odd free for all had formed with Hidan praising his God at the top of his lungs at every opportunity.

If there was one thing working in Kabuto's favour it was that although Hidan appeared immortal he didn't have the skills to abuse it. Hidan was moderately fast but didn't use any jutsu and seemed determined to get some of his foes blood. A task that was made harder since he didn't have a weapon. Kabuto was just happy that Tsunade had Transformed a rock into black pants for Hidan. Kabuto wasn't sure how he'd be able to fight a naked man; it would be too distracting.

_'Well if he wants blood then I have to find a way to get him some of Tsunade's.'_

That was easier said than done though; Tsunade had gotten her second wind and now she was almost a different opponent to the one he had stopped by splashing a little blood on. She was still a little rusty, but Kabuto knew that he would be hard pressed to heal from one of her strikes.

It suddenly came to Kabuto in a flash, how he could manage to win this fight while completing his goal for Orochimaru. Kabuto Flickered behind Hidan and managed to rewire most of the nerves in Hidan's legs. Hopefully that would buy Kabuto enough time before Hidan healed from the damage.

Knowing that it would elicit some kind of response Kabuto said, "It's too bad you betrayed us Tsunade. Orochimaru did revive your loved ones, he just kept them at Ryuchi Cave to keep them out of sight. They were just a reverse summoning away but now you get to watch them die again!"

It was a complete lie but Tsunade didn't know that and judging by the horror that had crossed her face all she needed was another push. Kabuto quickly formed the hand signs for the Summoning jutsu but slowed it down enough so that Tsunade would be able to tell what was coming.

Just as Kabuto as about to slam his hand on the ground Tsunade rocketed right at Kabuto, pure fury etched on her features just as Kabuto had anticipated. At the last second Kabuto Substituted himself with Hidan.

Tsunade's fist smashed through Hidan's stomach; she hadn't held herself back at all. Hidan grunted in pain before laughing hysterically. Tsunade didn't understand why he was laughing and not trying to get her arm out of his body; Hidan couldn't heal the damage if her arm was in the way.

Instead of doing the logical thing Hidan bent forward and sank his teeth into Tsunade's shoulder. Tsunade cried out before kicking Hidan away, she knew that she would suffer serious damage since Hidan hadn't let go but she could heal it.

Hidan tumbled away through the grass before getting to his feet. Kabuto could see Tsunade's blood trailing down Hidan's chin. Well Kabuto had managed to get Hidan some blood, what was he going to do with it?

Hidan gave an audible gulp as he swallowed Tsunade's flesh and blood. Kabuto hadn't seen that coming and just as he feared that Hidan had been merely hungry and that there wasn't a real reason for the blood, Hidan transformed before his eyes.

Hidan's skin darkened and white lines and patterns formed along his arms and face. Before anyone could ask just what was going on Hidan bit into his own forearm. As blood pooled on the ground he used his foot to draw a unique symbol on the grass; it was a circle with a triangle inside.

Hidan then stepped into the circle and in his increasingly grating voice said, "Woman, you have the honour of being a sacrifice for Jashin! How I envy you, your soul shall see Jashin himself as you pass on!"

Hidan gripped his neck with his right hand and ripped his throat out. An instant later Tsunade's neck tore itself apart and she fell her knees pain and fear clear on her face. Kabuto himself was confused and more than a little unnerved.

_'How did he do that? With just her blood he gained the ability to transfer his own wounds to Tsunade? There's no feasible way to explain it; not even a Bloodline should work that way since I assume it would work with anyone's blood. If it was a Bloodline then Hidan should make others drink his blood._

_'Whatever it is I can't give him a chance to get my blood but what he just did to Tsunade won't be enough to stop her; she's a legendary medic and only instant death will put her down, after all.'_

Kabuto Flickered behind Hidan and stabbed his heart with a kunai before Flickering away. He wasn't going to stay close to this lunatic if he could help it; Kabuto had focused on speed and not his destination which was why he found himself next to Tsunade's prone body,but he wasn't worried. Not even someone as skilled as her could heal a direct blow to the heart.

_'Good, I should be able to deal with Hidan. He's not particularly dangerous I just can't give him my blood.'_

It was at that second, right as Kabuto focused completely on Hidan that it happened. A hand gripped his left ankle with insane strength. Kabuto shot his eyes down before he cried out in shock.

Tsunade was looking up at him with a strange seal forming on her forehead. Before his very eyes Kabuto saw Tsunade's neck knit itself back together.

_'What the hell?! How is she doing this? This isn't healing this... this is regeneration!'_

"Surprised?" Tsunade smirked. She resumed speaking through her new vocal chords, "It's my own special technique and while it's active I'm basically immortal. Now, what were you saying before?"

Kabuto knew he was screwed; he had no way of escaping her grip and they both knew it. Kabuto tried his last desperate hand.

"It was a lie! Surely you understand that I only said those things to manipulate you into giving Hidan your blood. It was nothing personal."

Tsunade had gotten to her knees as Kabuto had explained himself. She nodded to herself before saying, "I see. Well you have to understand that when you try those kinds of things and they don't work, then a world of pain is coming your way."

Kabuto had just enough time to regret his actions before Tsunade punched him in the balls. Kabuto didn't even register that he had flown through the air or his landing; his whole world was just pain. Instinctively curling into a foetal position, Kabuto couldn't even focus enough to start the healing process; the pain was just too great.

xXx

As fanatical as Hidan was even he winced at what Tsunade had done to Kabuto. Ninja's might not fight with honour, but she had broken the unspoken rule. Still, Hidan didn't dwell too much on it, Kabuto had only himself to blame.

Instead excitement built in Hidan's chest. Here was someone who looked as immortal as he was. Now he would get a chance to really go all out!

xXx

Despite his exhaustion, Kakashi gasped. "Ooh I felt that. I almost feel bad for Kabuto."

Shizune huffed, "Hush you, no talking. You're suffering chakra exhaustion and need to rest. I'm already regretting not giving you anaesthetic; sleep is what you really need. The very least you can do in return is not talk."

"Sorry."

"Oh, shut up."

xXx

Orochimaru frowned in frustration; not at Kabuto's pain- who cared if he got hit there- but at his defeat. Clearly Kabuto needed more training, or perhaps it was time to start experimenting on his right-hand man?

Orochimaru now knew that time was against him and that he had to drastically change things to gain the advantage. He wasn't generally one for gambling, he was a scientist and preferred facts and figures but if he didn't at least try then there was a good chance he would have to retreat with nothing to show for his efforts.

Gritting his teeth at the pain, Orochimaru raised his right arm and bit his thumb. Smearing the blood on the prepared summoning seal on his left forearm he summoned Manda. The seal allowed a Summoning but without the proper hand signs, the chakra cost was far higher than normal.

"Manda, there's no time. Attack those two kids sitting next to each other and I'll give you a thousand offerings!"

Manda was a prideful being, but he was also shrewd. An offer like that didn't come around often.

"Alright but be warned: Should you not make good on your deal then I will stop serving and attack you on sight."

Manda glared at Orochimaru to make sure the message got across. When he saw Orochimaru nod, Manda turned his attention to the kids; a girl with pink hair and a boy who smelled like congealed blood. Easy prey.

Manda rushed at his targets before he was cut off by a strange creature. It had red flesh and four tails. Manda had lived long enough to know what a Tailed Beast's chakra felt like but had never met a Demon Container before and therefore was confused; the Four Tails looked nothing like this thing.

The puzzle would have to be solved later though since the beast attacked Manda.

For his part, Orochimaru took advantage of his opening and looked at Hidan. He needed time to talk to the man without Tsunade interfering.

Hidan was currently in a brawl with Tsunade; she managed to rip off one of his arms before it grew back, and he used the new limb to plunge a finger into one of her eyes. The eye regenerated and Tsunade kicked Hidan away.

Orochimaru sent several snakes towards Shizune and Kakashi knowing that Tsunade would protect them; he in turn raced towards Hidan. When he got there, he wasted no time and said,

"You say Jashin gives you immortality? Your mission is to kill everybody in the world? I think we can help each other achieve our goals."

"How?"

"I can transfer my soul to different bodies but can't use one for too long because it starts to die. I want to learn every jutsu in the world but I need immortality to do it.

"If I transfer my soul to your body, we would share control. You get my skills and jutsu and I get immortality. Your quest to kill all people will be much easier with my help."

Hidan didn't say anything for a moment; it was a good argument. Hidan didn't raise his voice but said to himself, "Is this your will Jashin? Should I join forces with Orochimaru in a bid to hasten the populations journey to paradise? Show me a sign, please!"

Orochimaru held his breath. He tried to think of a way to fabricate a sign of divine intervention without being caught when a lightning bolt struck the ground in front of Hidan.

_'Where the hell did that come from? There isn't a cloud in sight!'_

Hidan laughed; Jashin had answered him!

"Alright then, let us walk forward to greatness together Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru wasn't going to waste time double checking. He performed the hand signs and transferred his soul. This time he didn't immediately begin squashing the host's soul into oblivion; he had a theory that Hidan's faith was needed for the immorality and if the soul went then Orochimaru was back at square one.

The process was a little messy, but it quickly sorted itself out. Orochimaru found that with two minds it was a little crowded so suggested that Hidan take a mental step back. Once he did, it was almost like Orochimaru was in charge, pulling a cart which Hidan sat in.

_'How strange. Is this what it's like to be a Demon Container?'_

"How the hell should I know idiot!?"

_'Please Hidan, control your volume. You'll give me.. us a headache.'_

"Why don't you instead focus on the fight asshole."

Orochimaru focused back on the present in time to see Tsunade's fist smash into his face. When he landed on the ground Orochimaru felt the bones in his face  _bend and snap_ back into position. It hurt but in a flash, he was back to normal.

Getting to his feet, Orochimaru looked at his arms. They were still cursed, why weren't they healing?

"Maybe try regrowing them? Let Jashin over power whatever happened to them with his blessing."

It was worth a shot, Orochimaru rushed Tsunade and began a flurry of blows but near the end he left his right arm out a fraction too long. Tsunade seized it and tore it off before smacking him with the limb.

Orochimaru Flickered away and waited. A sudden burning overcame him and he fell to his knees. Gasping for breath Orochimaru  _felt_ all the nerves and muscles regrow and reconnect. It was terrible but once it was done he looked down; the arm looked good as new. It was nothing like before with his face but Orochimaru guessed that Jashin had removed whatever Hiruzen did and that meant a lot of pain as compensation.

Smirking Orochimaru used his regrown arm to tear off his useless left. Another session of torture followed before Orochimaru stood up back at full strength.

It was time to see just how good Tsunade's Mitotic Regeneration really was.

Orochimaru went through several hand signs, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Tsunade easily dodged the massive gale of wind but Orochimaru let out an exhilarated laugh. He could use his precious jutsu again!

"Oi, less laughing more killing. That's part of the deal, too long between bloodshed and Jashin's power will leave you."

That wouldn't be a problem. Orochimaru began spamming Wind and Fire jutsus at Tsunade, it seemed that his chakra reserves had fused with Hidan's and gave Orochimaru nearly double his normal amount.

Mitotic Regeneration was truly something, allowing Tsunade to heal from several blows which would've been fatal.

_'Wait focus. Stop playing around, this is what happened with sensei.'_

Orochimaru channelled a large amount of chakra and a veritable army of snakes came forth, surrounding Tsunade and cutting off her movements. Tsunade didn't panic, simply punching the ground and sending the snakes flying.

In that window Orochimaru struck, appearing behind her and intending to bisect Tsunade with his sword. He was sure that was the way to beat her regeneration, but his sword stopped in its arc after it was grabbed by a red claw.

Seeing that Naruto had no intention of letting his sword go and that he would soon get sandwiched between the two, Orochimaru let go of the Grass Cutter and Flickered away.

Orochimaru paused when he saw the dead body of Manda smoking on the ground. What had the brat done to kill the leader of the snake clan?

Orochimaru considered his options. He was now outnumbered and though he was immortal he wasn't one hundred percent sure he could beat Tsunade one on one. Add in the hybrid Naruto and his odds of victory fell. True they couldn't kill him but capture as an option.

"No way. We can't run, Jashin demands blood!"

_'I know these lands. Barely fifteen minutes run west leads us to a village of six hundred. We can murder them for Jashin instead but retreat is the better option right now.'_

Hidan didn't reply but Orochimaru felt his grudging acceptance.

"Ninja Art: Cloud of Decay!"

A blue cloud formed in front of Orochimaru and billowed at his foes. It was poison of the highest degree and Orochimaru used the opening to grab Kabuto and run.

Orochimaru knew that Tsunade and Naruto would have to choose between sacrificing their friends or continue the fight which meant that for them, it wasn't really a choice. The 'Will of Fire' was truly a stupid thing.

Kabuto had just started to regain his other senses, the ones not related to pain, and begin the healing process but he still couldn't move. Shifting his legs in anyway caused unimaginable pain, he would've preferred death over what he got.

Orochimaru didn't waste time, he merely grabbed Kabuto by the waist and carried him horizontally; there wasn't time for anything else.

Orochimaru knew that he would need to move fast to lose them before the poison cleared.

This new body had so many possibilities, if he transplanted a Sharingan would Jashin heal it so that it would be natural and eliminate the chakra costs that plagued Kakashi to this day? With an immortal body, just how many Bloodlines could he transplant?

xXx

**"Naruto, that cloud is poisonous. It's heading for your friends."**

Naruto didn't question Kurama's statement, trusting his friend he shot towards Sakura and Sasuke. Not wasting time being gentle he grabbed them both by the back of their shirts and Flickered away to the side of the cloud. An instant later Tsunade appeared with Shizune and Kakashi.

Letting go of his friends Naruto prepared to chase after Orochimaru but Tsunade stopped him.

"Naruto, I don't know the limits of that form but surely there are consequences by transforming? Stay with your team and stop putting your body through this change."

"But what about the trai-"

"That's an order from the Fifth Hokage."

"What? I thought Jiraiya was going to be Hokage?"

Tsunade shrugged. "I know him better than you and Jiraiya would never want to be Hokage. Not to mention that his network of informants and spies relies on him being in the field; they can't report to him if he's in an office."

Naruto knew that she couldn't stop him if he really tried to leave. Kurama still had huge amounts of chakra left and he could manifest more tails which would make him faster.

"Naruto,"

Naruto paused when he heard Kakashi's voice. It was soft and lacked energy, but Naruto still managed to catch it.

"Can you tell me how Sasuke is doing? Shizune said his wound was life threatening."

That one sentence was enough to make Naruto forget Orochimaru. Sasuke nearly died?!

Naruto let his hold of Kurama's chakra go and felt his body retake it's normal shape. His skin had managed to not be burned off this time; perhaps its mattered when he was in control? His muscles were still sore though he managed to walk to Sasuke's side.

"How are you?"

"Fine."

"Kakashi sensei, he's fine."

Sakura snorted. "He's stable but far from 'fine'. You're both idiots but you're my idiots."

Shizune giggled, she like this team. She was about to say so to Kakashi when she noticed that he had finally fallen asleep. It was about time to, how he had managed to stay awake for so long she had no idea. He probably needed to hear his team's voices to reassure himself.

Shizune never noticed the fond smile that had formed on her face but Tsunade did. The Fifth Hokage smirked; seemed like Shizune liked white hair.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone familier with this work will know that I originally posted it on FFN. However, with the whole user's getting hack thing I decieded to join here and hope that this place is safer. I also fused the first two chapters into one chapter here since I did get a comment on chapter length. 
> 
> Please review, this is my first attempt at FF and I really want to improve my work.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter.


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